Home Is Where The Heart Is
by TinkBuck
Summary: Jate. Kate interferes the kidnapping of a doctor's daughter
1. Chapter 1

**Home Is Where The Heart Is**  
Summary: Kate interferes the kidnapping of a doctor's daughter. As you'll notice this story is AU... and it's Jate :)  
Disclaimer: My shrink says that I dont own Lost :(

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**Chapter One**

Kate sat on a wooden bench right in front of a playground. It wasn't a very large playground but it had both a large metal swing set and climbing equipments with a connected slide.

Watching the innocent children play, had a soothing effect on her. She'd always had a soft spot for children. They saw the world in a very naive way, with their innocent and curious eyes. It was so different from the world she knew. She wasn't sure if she envied them or pitied them.

Most of the adults stood on a small distance from the center of the playground, alertly watching their own children in case they fell off a swing or the climbing equipment. Letting her eyes travel over the grown ups, Kate guessed that most of these children were there with a nanny instead of a parent.

Her eyes settled on a handsome dark haired man, wearing a very nice looking grey suit. She tried to follow his gaze into the crowd of children to see if she could figure out which of them that was his.

The man was obviously watching the swing set. Kate narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the children, as if it had real significance if she could guess correctly.

Two girls and a boy

The first girl had medium long, almost black hair put up in pig tails and was wearing a pink jacket with white pants. She would guess that the girl was around the age of six. She seemed bored, sending out the signal that the she was obviously too old to be sitting there.

Kate moved her eyes to the next girl, who was wearing a light blue jacket with a matching skirt. She was definitely younger, maybe three years old, perhaps four. She had shoulder long, light brown hair with a hair band, which was light blue as well. The little girl tried to reach the ground with her small feet, with a slightly scared look on her face.

Finally she inspected the boy, who was probably about as old as the young girl. She noticed that he was constantly giggling, as he tried to swing himself higher, therefore being the only one of the three that seemed to enjoy the swings at all. He had short messy brown hair and was wearing black pants and a green jacket, and from the look of it had he been playing in the sandbox earlier.

Kate took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The boy was his… and possibly the older girl with a pink jacket. She opened her eyes again and continued to watch the swing set, now determined to find out if her guess had been correct.

Several minutes passed and the same three children were still on the swings. Kate started to feel a bit apprehensive, knowing it wasn't safe to just sit there. Considering how out of place she looked, it wasn't safe to even be in this neighborhood. She sighed and glanced down at her own outfit. It felt like she'd been wearing the same clothes for months, it probably looked that way too.

Looking back up at the swing set, she noticed that the youngest girl was gone. Her eyes darted around the park but she couldn't find her. Instead her eyes once more settled on the handsome, dark haired man, who still stood in the exact same place.

The man suddenly called out the name 'Hannah' a couple of times, making Kate look curiously around to see which one of the children would answer him. Kate let out a chuckle when she saw the little girl with the light blue outfit come running up to the dark haired man.

Muttering 'typical' under her breath, Kate grabbed her backpack and started searching for her water bottle. Apparently matching up parents with their kids, was not her game, Kate thought to herself.

A few more minutes passed and Kate noticed a black van that had parked right next to the playground. She glanced around the area suspiciously, as if she was trying to make sure that it held no threat against her. She started to shift nervously on the bench. Anyone in the park could be a police officer or an agent, wearing civilian clothing.

Taking a deep breath, Kate looked around the park once more. The only one Kate got any 'agent' feeling from, would be the handsome man in the grey suit. But since he obviously was there with a child, she shrugged the thought off. Considering how dangerous she apparently was, no one would do anything undercover with the presence of children anywhere near her. Kate felt like rolling her eyes, at the thought of herself being a threat to the children in the park in front of her.

Suddenly Kate felt very alert as a woman dressed completely in black approached the dark haired man and whispered something in his ear. Kate noticed how the man's face froze as he started to scan the park anxiously. Kate immediately grabbed her backpack and started walking over to the sidewalk.

Hopefully the woman had been his wife and told him that she couldn't find their daughter and he got worried and was now searching for her. Otherwise she was in trouble. They could very well have been there looking for her. Why had she stayed there so long? Kate thought miserably to herself.

Realizing that she was now on the sidewalk, Kate stopped for a second and turned around. The woman was still standing right next to the man, almost leaning against him. He had an odd and worried expression on his face, still looking around apprehensively. Looking back over at the woman, Kate realized that she wasn't looking around in the park, she was still whispering in the man's ear.

Kate felt a chill go through her body. Something was very wrong with this picture. Being one of the few people there taller than 4 feet, it was not that hard to find her. The man wasn't looking for her. He was looking for the little girl. Kate mirrored his action, and let her eyes travel over the park in an attempt to locate the girl.

Realizing that she was no longer in the park, Kate turned around and started looking up and down the street, in case the little girl had wandered off. Her eyes settled on the black van that was parked a short distance to the left, on the other side of the road.

Something with that vehicle and its tinted windows just gave her the creeps. Taking a deep breath, Kate crossed the street on a safe distance from the van. Glancing behind it, Kate's eyes immediately fell on the brown haired little girl. There were also two black dressed adults standing there, a man leaning against the car, looking a bit bored and a woman squatting down next to the girl.

Kate could hear the little girl saying something about her daddy still being in the park. Which the woman confronted with that he had left, and that they would take her to where he was.

Kate tried to determine if they were armed. She guessed the woman wasn't, but she wasn't as sure about the man. He could easily been carrying a gun that Kate wasn't able to see from the angle she was in. She hoped to God he didn't, as she started to approach them.

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any good? 


	2. Chapter 2

thx for the reviews and thx to all my wonderful friends who help me with the fic :)

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**Chapter Two**

"_Hannah!"_ Kate called out when she was just a few feet away from the van. The little girl immediately turned her head at the sound of her name and gave Kate a curious look. The woman stood up and turned towards Kate as well, with a panicked expression on her face.

Kate couldn't believe what she was doing. She had enough problems of her own, without getting mixed up in some kind of kidnapping. It was too late to back out now though.

Taking a few more steps she bent down and picked the girl up to her hip, right in front of the black dressed couple. The man and woman exchanged a worried look and turned back to Kate, both stunned speechless.

Kate forced a sweet smile to the couple. _"Thank you so much for finding her."_ Trying her best to stay as calm and natural as possible, Kate glanced down at the girl. _"You know you're not supposed to wander off like that Hannah"_ Her voice was disapproving, in an attempt to sound like a worried mother.

Kate had regretted the comment the second it had left her mouth. Not the smartest to start talking to the 3 year old, since they are very likely to question everything around them. The most logical question at the time for this one, would probably be who the hell Kate was.

The girl first gave her a very puzzled look before her eyes fell. _"I'm sorry"_

Considering herself the luckiest person in the world, Kate just hugged the girl closer, who shamefully had buried her face in Kate's neck.

Giving the adults an appreciative smile, Kate turned around and started walking away, carrying Hannah. Kate held her breath, hoping that they wouldn't follow her, or worse, just shot her in the back. Kate shivered at the thought, she still wasn't sure if they had been armed though.

When she had walked a few houses down the street, Kate dodged in between two apartment buildings and put Hannah down on the ground. The girl had been a lot heavier than she had thought.

Kate held her breath and crouched down in front of the girl. _"Did you know those people?"_ Kate asked firmly.

Having the worst feeling about this, Kate just hoped to God the girl wouldn't answer yes. If that was the case, she had just managed to add kidnapping to the list of her crimes.

The girl shook her head slowly, looking slightly scared of Kate.

"_It's okay. My name is Kate. You don't have to be afraid."_ Kate reassured, as she cautiously looked around to make sure they hadn't been followed.

"_Who were they?"_ asked Hannah timidly, pointing in the direction they had come from.

"_I'm not sure. But I don't think they were very nice people."_ Kate explained truthfully to the child.

"_I want my daddy" _The little girl suddenly whimpered.

Feeling a bit panicked that the girl might start crying, Kate placed a comforting hand on Hannah's back. _"It's okay, I'll take you to your dad"_ She promised reassuringly.

"_He's in the park"_ The little girl informed her intelligently.

"_I know, I don't think we should go back there though"_ Kate answer unfocused, looking around to make sure that no one was watching them.

The girl looked completely crushed. No wonder, Kate thought to herself, she had just told her that she wouldn't take her back to the park, to her daddy.

"_Alright, stay right here."_ Kate said firmly, walking across a lawn and leaned cautiously over a fence. The van was gone. Letting out a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding, she turned to the girl and waved for her to come over.

Kate carefully lifted Hannah over the fence and placed her on the sidewalk and then climbed over it herself. When they came back to the park, Kate quickly searched for Hannah's father or any sign of the people with the van.

Unable to see either, Kate glanced back down at the girl. Hannah gave Kate a hopeful look, which Kate only responded to by shaking her head sympathetically.

The girl's bottom lip had started trembling and she was sobbing loudly. Kate immediately crashed down on the ground in front of her. _"It's okay. Don't cry. I'll find your daddy, I promise"_ Kate tried desperately to get Hannah quiet. She was breaking Kate's first rule of survival. Do not under any circumstances draw attention to yourself.

Kate grabbed a small rock, lying next to her on the ground and hid it in her fist. _"Hannah" _Kate started, trying to get the girl's attention. _"I want you to have something, ok?" _

The girl gave her a curious look, obviously interested in what the woman was going to give her._ "What is it?"_ She asked quietly.

Kate smiled at her and opened her fist in front of her eyes.

The girl looked up at her with an unimpressed expression on her face. _"A rock?" _

Kate gave her a fake shocked expression. _"It's not a rock. It's a magical stone."_ Kate explained trying so sound excited.

"_A magical stone?"_ Hannah asked doubtfully, glancing down at the small item in Kate's hand.

"_Yeah, it'll help you find anything you want. So I thought since you want to find your dad, that you could borrow it until you do."_ Kate said seriously, handing the small rock over to the girl.

Inspecting the pebble closely, Hannah gave Kate a new suspicious look.

"_But you have to promise that I can have it back when you've found your dad. I have things I need to find too."_ Kate almost whispered to the girl in a last attempt to convince her. The kid obviously was too smart to buy it. But it didn't really matter, because the goal had been achieved, Hannah had calmed down and was no longer crying.

Hannah gave Kate a small smile and looked down at the stone again. _"I promise" _the child said sincerely.

Kate smiled and let out a breath of relief. Alright, now she just needed to find the dad. Most logical would be to hand the girl over to the police, and let them find the father. But since it was probably not that simple to do without being spotted herself, Kate figured it would be safer to just find him herself.

"_Hannah, do you know where you live?" _Kate asked, hoping the girl would know her own address, maybe it was just a couple of houses away.

"_In Los Angeles." _

Kate sighed. Okay, maybe it wouldn't be that easy.

"_Do you live close by? Like in one of these houses right here?"_ Kate asked, pointing at the houses across the street from the playground.

"_No, we live far away."_ The girl answered, sounding sad at the fact.

"_Did you drive here?"_ Kate asked, hoping that maybe the girl considered a five minute walk 'far away'.

Hannah started giggling. _"No silly. Dad drived"_

"_Drove"_ Kate automatically corrected, only to receive an unimpressed look from the young girl.

Okay, new approach, Kate thought to herself. _"What's your daddy's name?"_

"_Jack"_ Hannah immediately answered.

"_How nice"_ Kate muttered sarcastically. She was looking for a dark haired man named Jack, who lived somewhere in L.A. Letting out a frustrated sighed, Kate considered to just leave the kid outside a police station or something.

"_You don't happen to know the full name, do you?"_ Kate asked jadedly

"_Dr. Jack Shepard"_ She sounded very proud. Kate couldn't tell if it was the fact that her father was a doctor or that she had been able to answer the question.

Alright, a Dr. Jack Shepard couldn't be that hard to find, Kate thought to herself standing back up. _"Alright kiddo lets go find your dad."_ Kate said nicely, taking the girl's small hand as they started to stroll down the sidewalk.

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leave a little review maybe:) 


	3. Chapter 3

_thanks for all the reviews :) glad you all seem to like the story :)_

_Evergreen.C -you'll get to know that dont worry.. but not yet,so be patient ;)_

_and thx to all my buddies who help me _grouphug

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**Chapter Three**

Kate knew that they looked suspicious together. The child was dressed in an outfit probably more valuable than any piece of clothing she had ever worn in her entire life.

It killed her that they were drawing attention to themselves. She knew she had to do something about that, and soon.

Kate suddenly stopped on the sidewalk and since she was still holding Hannah's hand, the girl stopped as well. Hannah gave Kate a curious look, wondering why they were no longer walking.

Kate crouched down next to Hannah, quickly glancing around to make sure there were no people around. _"Hannah I need you to take off your jacket."_

"_Why?"_ The girl looked confused.

"_I think those bad people might be following us and they will recognize you in that blue jacket."_ Kate explained to the child, not wanting to tell Hannah that she looked too elegant in her company.

Hannah's expression turned from confusion to fear in a second and she started to scan the area for anything that could be a threat.

Kate hadn't actually thought about it, but it was actually possible that the people with the van were indeed following them. From what Kate had managed to puzzle together, they had intended to kidnap Hannah. It was possible that they wouldn't give up that easily and was going to do a new attempt to snatch the little girl.

At the moment though, Kate had to focus on not being recognized herself. Hiding from black-dressed kidnappers, hunting down a wealthy doctor's daughter would have to accept to be the second priority on her list.

Helping Hannah off with her light blue jacket and on with her own beige one, Kate felt a bit more relaxed. After folding up the sleeves and butting the jacket, Kate stood back up and inspected the girl's new outfit. She looked ridiculous. Like a little girl that had dressed up in masquerade clothing. The jacket almost reached down to her knees, covering the whole skirt. If it hadn't been for the white fancy shoes and the neatly combed hair, the girl could have passed as someone who'd grown up on the streets.

Hannah didn't look that thrilled wearing the new jacket. Giving Kate a devastated look, the girl started walking again.

After forcing the small stylish jacket into her backpack, Kate caught up with the girl.

Kate was a bit unsure where she was going. She needed a phone, a computer or a phone book to find out where this doctor Jack Shepard lived. Easiest would probably be to ask someone to let her borrow their cell phone. She didn't want to do that though. Interaction with other people was something she would only do if it was truly necessary.

Spotting a phone booth on the other side of the street, Kate's face lit up. Of course, she thought to herself, grabbing Hannah's hand as they crossed the street. The second she reached the pay phone, she realized that she didn't actually have any money.

Letting out a frustrated sighed, Kate turned to the young girl. _"You don't have a quarter, do you?"_

Hannah looked confused and just shook her head in a negative.

"_Alright, I guess we're going to the library then."_ Kate said with an apprehensive voice. Libraries meant a lot of people and a lot of people meant a bigger chance of being recognized.

Hannah suddenly made a halt. _"I'm tired… Are we there yet?" _The girl's voice was almost trembling.

Kate glanced down at the girl. How can she be tired already? They had been walking for less than five minutes. _"We're almost there." _Kate said kindly taking the girl's hand once more and continued to walk.

Entering the library Kate felt a bit panicked. Was she just paranoid, or was everybody looking at her? Taking a deep breath, Kate walked through the lobby and dodged in behind the nearest row of bookshelves she saw.

Kate had never actually gotten a chance to visit the library, even though she lived fairly close. What she wouldn't give to be able to spend a whole day here, just reading and having some quite, alone time.

Hannah had let go of her hand and was wandering off towards the children area, completely hypnotized by something. Kate scanned the room and guessed that it was the enormous play house shaped like a book, with a roof looking like a book turned up side down that was fascinating the child.

"_Hannah"_ Kate said as loud as she dared, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself. _"Could you please stay right here"_ Kate gestured to her side and received an unimpressed look from the brown haired girl, who reluctantly walked over to Kate.

Finding a computer, Kate sat down with Hannah standing next to her. Kate looked over at Hannah who was inspecting the small rock she had received earlier. She was still feeling a bit paranoid, convinced that people was watching them carefully.

Would people think that Hannah was her daughter? Technically she was old enough to be her mother, but Kate knew that she looked younger than she really was, especially dressed in her worn out clothes, damp hair and without any make up. Not a comforting thought since it probably drew even more curious looks to them.

Turning her attention back to the computer, Kate managed to find the address in a few minutes.

Brentwood. Kate let out a sighed as she quickly wrote the full address down on a small piece of paper. That's just great, she thought, of course the handsome doctor lives in Brentwood.

Kate didn't know much about the neighborhood, but it was not around the corner thought. She knew that it was very glamorous and unbelievably expensive to buy a house there. Was it even in Los Angeles? If it was, it was in the outskirts, Kate thought miserably to herself.

They would have to take the bus. There was no way they could walk all the way over there. With Hannah that would probably take days. Kate knew that if she had been alone, she would probably have tried to get a lift. But she didn't want to do anything to endanger a little child's life. She knew hitchhiking was anything but a safe way to travel.

The bus meant expenses. They would have to head back to her place to get money.

Kate was interrupted in her thoughts by a kind female voice. _"Your daughter is just adorable." _Kate at once glanced up and saw a woman, probably in her 30s smiling down at both her and Hannah.

"_Thank you"_ Kate said nervously as she quickly stood up and grabbed Hannah's hand. It was definitely time to go.

Leaving the building, Kate gave Hannah a guilty look. _"We have to make a quick stop at my place before we can get you back home."_

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_dont forget to leave a review ;)_


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks northbabii03 & Juliet glad you like the story ;p

Evergreen.C since youre all hyper n curious about it... she's neither ;)

And well...I answered everbody elses reviews with PM's... so lets get back to the story..

New chapter..

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**Chapter Four**

They had been walking for about 30 minutes. Hannah had complained about being tired for the last 29 minutes and had frequently asked if they were there yet.

Kate felt frustrated. She loved children and she had always imagined herself to have them in the future. But the thought of constantly hearing the question 'Are we there yet?' whenever you were going somewhere, almost made her reconsider her plans.

Not much left of those plans though, Kate thought sadly, being on the run pretty much made that dream impossible. If she by some miracle would end up pregnant, her child would still not have the life she would wish. They wouldn't be able to go to school or have a permanent home or any of the comforting things a normal family would offer.

Finally reaching the building Kate, glanced around suspiciously, making sure no one was following them. She hated that she had been forced to bring Hannah to this part of the city. If she lived in Brentwood, the girl had probably never even been close to a place like this.

Hannah didn't seem to mind her whereabouts. She looked around curiously at her surroundings, fascinated by everyone and everything she passed.

Unlocking the door, Kate let herself and the girl into the dark studio apartment. They smell of mold hit them as they walked to the center of the small room. Kate had started getting used to the damp and confined smell of the apartment, but she hated that it was so murky. The only window was very small and barely let any sunlight in. Even with the lights turned on in the room, the apartment still had the most depressing feeling hovering in the air. Kate knew it was the dark colors of the walls and the grey cement floor that was causing it, but she knew that there was no point doing anything about it, since she probably wouldn't stay there much longer anyway.

The placed looked more like a storage room than a place a young woman would live. It had even been used as storage and most of the room was still occupied by boxes containing small useless plastic items that Kate didn't even know the function of.

In one of the corners was a makeshift bed that looked more like a pile of blankets than an actual bed. Kate walked over to the 'bed' and dug beneath the blankets, while Hannah stayed in the middle of the room. Kate finally found what she had been looking for and rose from the makeshift bed. Putting the newfound envelope in her backpack, Kate once more took Hannah's hand in hers and left the gloomy apartment.

Figuring it would be for the best to take the bus to the bus station downtown, Kate headed off to the nearest bus stop. It would cost more than just taking the bus to Brentwood, but considering that she had Hannah with her, it would definitely be worth the money.

Arriving at the bus stop Kate noticed how Hannah's face lit up. _"Are we going with the bus?"_ the child asked exited.

Kate smiled at her and gave her a confirming nod. Kids are funny, they could get be exited about the strangest things, Kate thought amusingly to herself.

Hannah was almost jumping up and down, unable to stand still, while they waited for the bus. _"I've never been on a bus"_ The child divulged, looking impatiently down the street, hoping the bus would appear soon.

She had never been on a bus before? Kate almost found that sad, but remember that the girl might have grown up in a family who had a driver that drove them anywhere necessary.

When the bus finally arrived Hannah took Kate's hand and dragged her over to the bus door. Kate paid for their tickets and made her way through the bus, Hannah walking in front of her.

Hannah gave Kate a huge smile as they sat down on two empty seats. Thankful that there weren't too much people on the bus, Kate leaned back in her chair and looked out the window.

The little girl could barely sit still. Excitingly trying to look out on everything that passed by, Hannah was almost lying in Kate's lap to be closer to the window.

Kate carefully lifted the girl up to sit in her lap, feeling slightly bad because she had taken the window seat.

Hannah was turning her head back and forth trying to see everything that paced by on the other side of the glass. Kate smiled to herself as the girl's brown hair tickled her face.

Noticing that Hannah was still wearing the blue hair band, Kate gently removed it and placed it in the backpack together with the blue jacket. It doesn't hurt to be careful, Kate told herself. The hair band was the only thing that really stood out with her appearance, except for the shoes, but she couldn't very well take those off.

A few bus stops later, an elderly woman got on the bus and immediately spotted Kate and Hannah. Kate could see in the corner of her eye how the woman was walking straight towards them, obviously planning on sitting down on the empty seat next to her. Kate considered placing Hannah back to her own seat, to prevent the woman from sitting down.

Feeling her seat shift slightly, Kate realized it was too late.

"_Isn't she just the sweetest thing…"_ The grey haired woman said with an adorable grandmotherly voice.

Giving the new passenger a quick smile, Kate turned her head slightly and continued to watch the world outside, together with Hannah.

Kate could feel the woman staring at her, inspecting her closely, which made her feel very uncomfortable. Did she recognize her? Kate could feel her heart start beating faster. This had been a stupid idea. Why had she taken this kid under her wings? She had enough problems being invisible without a little girl who drew extra attention to them.

"_Is she your daughter?"_ A curious voice, asked inquiringly from behind her.

Kate held her breath. What should she say? Most logical would be 'yes'. A 'no' would hold a lot of follow-up questions that she wouldn't be able to answer. There was a good chance that Hannah would question the answer if she said 'yes' though, which would definitely make the woman suspicious. Turning slowly back to face the elderly woman, Kate desperately tried to think of something to say.

Hannah had turned around as well and smiled sweetly at the stranger sitting next to them. _"I'm Hannah" _the girl said friendly, offering the woman her right hand.

"_Well aren't we polite"_ The elderly lady said kindly, shaking the small little hand. _"I'm Margaret"_

The woman raised her head and looked back on Kate, still smiling. _"And what's your mommy's name?"_

"_Sarah"_ The little girl answered quickly, smiling up proudly at Margaret.

Telling herself not to panic, Kate gave the older woman a small polite nod and an adorable smile.

Dreading what the next question might be, Kate glanced out the window and to her delight seeing that it was time for them to get off the bus.

Kate told the woman that it was nice meeting her and excused herself as she and Hannah squeezed themselves out from the window seat and bulged for the bus doors.

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review please.. :) 


	5. Chapter 5

_alright another chappie for you guys :)_

_and the next chapter after this is gonna be Hannah-POV, so you'll get to know a lil bit more about her and her family :)_

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**Chapter Five**

Kate exhaled loudly as she saw the bus continue its route, leaving them behind. Feeling something tug on her pants leg, Kate glanced down questioningly at Hannah.

"_Kate" the girl started carefully. "I'm hungry…"_

Kate nodded slowly, taking in the information_. "Alright, let's eat something then."_ Kate said a bit hesitantly, trying to remember how much money she had.

Within minutes they stood in the line to buy Hannah a hamburger. The child looked just as excited about the food as she had been about the bus tour. This is silly, she must have had a hamburger before, Kate thought curiously to herself.

"_Are you having a hamburger too?"_ Hannah asked as she span around looking at the furnishing of the small restaurant.

"_No, I don't eat meat."_ Kate answered unfocused. She wouldn't mind something else though. Considering that she hadn't actually eaten anything since the day before, she was starving. It was probably not a big chance that there would be enough money for both of them to eat, plus two bus tickets to Brentwood. She didn't now how much it would cost exactly to get the tickets, so safest was to spend as little as possible.

"_Why not?"_ Hannah asked, giving Kate a shocked look.

Kate glanced down at Hannah, first unsure what she was talking about. Remembering that she had just told the girl that she didn't eat meat, Kate tried to come up with a simple and easy explanation. _"Because I think it's wrong to eat animals."_

Hannah looked surprised at the answer. _"A hamburger is an animal?" _The girl asked suspiciously, giving Kate a doubtful look.

"_Yeah"_ Kate replied shortly.

"_Oh"_ Hannah let her eyes fall to the ground, deep in thought. _"I don't want a hamburger either" _She finally whispered, just as they reached the counter and a young blonde woman asked what they wanted to order.

Way to go, you just crushed a little girls love for fast-food, Kate thought to herself. Now what?

Noticing the inpatient look the blonde girl was giving her, Kate glanced down at Hannah. _"How about some fries?"_

After receiving a small confirming nod, Kate turned her attention back up and simply ordered fries for the girl.

Hannah was eating in slow-motion, wiggling her feet back and forth, not being able to reach the floor from the chair.

Kate was sitting across from her, stealing a French fry every other second, which the girl didn't seem to mind. Glancing at the watch on her wrist, Kate felt a bit worried about the fact that they had been sitting there for almost half an hour.

Hannah had only a couple of fries left but was no longer paying any attention to the food. Instead she was following two children about her age with her eyes, as they ran back and forth in the restaurant, while their parents desperately tried to get them to sit still.

Knowing that it was time to get going, Kate put the last three fries in her own mouth and stood up.

"_Come on"_ Kate simply said to the young girl, once more taking her small hand in her.

Kate couldn't help smiling as she watched her young companion who skipped in a playful way on the paving stones. Remembering doing the same when she was a little girl, Kate suddenly felt a strong urge to join the game. But the rational part of her brain held her back, knowing that an adult jumping around like some loon definitely would draw people's attention.

It was already late afternoon. Kate knew that it would take quite some time to get all the way up to Brentwood, so they probably wouldn't be there until the evening.

Feeling herself shiver as the wind softly teased her bare arms, Kate regretted that she hadn't brought another jacket when they had been back at her place. It wasn't that cold though, she told herself as she tried to focus on something else.

Walking back to the bus station they had arrived at earlier, Kate's mind had wandered off. Maybe she should have called Hannah's parents instead. They were probably worried sick by the fact that their daughter was missing. Kate felt slightly panicked when she realized that they might have called the police.

The brown eyed little girl interrupted her thoughts by once more pulling lightly on her pants leg. _"Which bus are we going on?"_ Hannah sounded excited, watching all the buses that were passing in and out of the station doing their daily tours.

Unsure herself, Kate watched the arrival and departure board, trying to figure out when and from where their bus was going. It was more complicated to understand than Kate had thought.

"_I think… over here"_ Kate finally said wearily, bringing Hannah by the hand across the cobble stoned yard in front of them.

Accidentally bumping in to a man next to her, Kate mumbled 'sorry' and took a step back, before going around the man.

Feeling small water drops on her bare arms, Kate was thankful that she was just steps away from getting on the bus. It was getting really cold and the chilly wind definitely wasn't helping. She was surprised that Hannah hadn't complained about it yet.

Getting on the bus, Kate paid for their two tickets, realizing she now only had a dollar to spare. Thankful that Hannah after all hadn't eaten a hamburger earlier, Kate gently pushed the young girl further in to the bus.

This time Kate made sure to remember letting Hannah have the window seat. The girl was a bit too short to see out properly but she didn't seem to mind, sitting back in her seat watching the roofs of the buildings passing by.

Kate leaned back herself and closed her eyes, letting herself doze off a bit, by the soothing sound of music coming from the bus radio in the front.

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_r&r ;)_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Trying to see more of the surrounding world, Hannah was now sitting on her knees to get a couple of inches taller. She couldn't believe that she was actually on a bus, again. She used to beg her mom all the time about going with the bus sometime, but it had never happened.

Taking the small rock Kate had given her earlier out of her pocket, Hannah sat back down properly on the seat.

Daddy had promised her to take her on the bus when he had the time. That had never happened either. But she knew her dad had a very important job. He was a doctor. Just like she would be when she grew up. Everybody loved her dad and they always said that he was the best doctor in the whole city.

She had wanted to stay in the park a bit longer, with her daddy. He usually didn't have time to bring her to the playground but he had taken the whole day off to spend with her and now she had spent it without him.

Hannah chewed on her bottom lip as a tear hit the small item in her hand. She loved the bus, but she wished that they would get to her house soon. She wanted to be home. Swallowing a sob, Hannah put the stone back in her pocket. She was too old to cry, she told herself, only babies cried.

Glancing over to her right, Hannah noticed that Kate had closed her eyes. Was she sleeping? Hannah thought curiously to herself. Silly grown ups. Doesn't she know that you're supposed to sleep at night, not during the day?

Hannah narrowed her eyes and watched Kate as she peacefully carried on sleeping. Maybe she was sick, Hannah thought sadly. Sick people sometimes slept during the day. Babies too, but Kate was definitely not a baby. Hannah let out a giggle at the thought of Kate being a little baby. When Kate stirred at the sound of child laughter, Hannah put a small hand to her mouth, trying to make herself stop giggling.

Remembering that her daddy sometimes slept during the day when he came home from work, Hannah settled for the idea that Kate had been working earlier and was sleeping because of that.

Turning her attention back to the world on the other side of the window glass, Hannah grinned happily as she saw a huge sign with a cartoon dog. Being in the city was so much fun, there were endless of things to do and even more things to see.

"_Look Kate!"_ Hannah exclaimed, making Kate shot her eyes open. Kate turned towards the girl who was staring out the window.

Hannah shifted on the seat and turned to face a disoriented looking Kate.

"_Look where?"_ Kate asked a bit wearily.

"_You missed it"_ Hannah stated a bit disappointed.

Kate gave her an apologizing look as she let out a small yawn. Hannah smiled at her. She liked Kate, she was really nice, much nicer than Ms. Greene from school, Aunt Jennifer or even the new nanny, Amy. Maybe even nicer than mom, Hannah thought, Kate had after all taken her on two bus rides on one single day.

Hannah lowered her head in shame, looking directly at her shoes. She felt bad for thinking that. Of course Kate wasn't as nice as her mom. She loved her mommy very much. It was wrong to even think that.

"_You okay Hannah?"_ Kate asked concerned, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Hannah glanced back up at Kate and gave her small nod.

"_So, your dad is a doctor huh?"_ Kate asked after a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence.

Hannah was looking in to space, but responded to the question with another nod.

"_That gotta be great. If you get hurt when you're playing, he will patch you right back up."_ Kate said a bit amused, but it still sounded forced.

"_Yeah, he always kisses it and makes it better."_ Hannah said proudly, remembering all the times she and William had gotten small bruises or cuts and their daddy had kissed it and it had magically felt better.

Hannah gave Kate a sweet smile and the woman mirrored her expression.

She couldn't wait to get back home, she wanted to show Kate the house and especially her room. Maybe Kate would play with her, Hannah thought excitedly. She hopefully would, if she drew Kate a nice picture.

Hannah turned back to the window again, now watching the traffic, trying to figure out what kind of picture she would draw for Kate. Time seemed to pass quickly and Hannah suddenly got the feeling she had been there before as she saw a yellow building with unusually large windows.

Kate looked a bit anxious as she tried to see where they were, carefully checking every bus stop over Hannah's head. Suddenly she grabbed the girl's hand and rose from the seat. Hurrying off the bus, Kate managed to hit her head hard on the bus door on her way off, making her curse loudly.

Hannah gave her a surprised and disapproving look as they stood on the pavement next to the bus stop.

"_Sorry"_ Kate mumbled to Hannah, carefully placing her fingers to the spot she had hurt.

Hannah watched her worriedly as the woman removed the fingers from her forehand and saw the blood on them.

Kate let out a frustrated sighed. _"It's not too bad is it?"_ Kate said wearily to the girl, gesturing for her head.

Hannah glanced at the cut on Kate's forehead and saw a small trace of blood running down the side of her face, mixing with the cold rain that was pouring down on them. Knowing that blood was never a good sign, Hannah gave Kate a panicked expression.

"_Great"_ Muttered Kate as she picked up the backpack that she had dropt when the got off the bus.

"_Daddy can kiss it and make it better when we find him."_ Hannah said reassuringly, knowing that her dad would definitely be able to fix it.

Hannah wasn't sure but it looked like Kate blushed at the comment. _"I don't think that'll be necessary" _answered the brunette, sounding a bit embarrassed.

They started walking and Hannah almost immediately recognized where she was. She probably wouldn't be able to find her house by herself but she knew that they were close.

"_I'm cold"_ Hannah suddenly said, squeezing Kate's hand gently.

Kate gave her an understanding and sympatric nod as she stopped walking and opened the backpack. She removed the now soaked beige jacket and put Hannah's blue one back on. Placing the much too large jacket back, on top of the fancy child jacket, they started walking again.

Walking around a corner, Hannah finally saw it. Her house. The child's face lit up as she started to run towards it.

"_Hannah wait!"_ Kate exclaimed, as the girl paced up the approach to the house.

Hannah could barely hear her as her small hands flew to the doorknob. It was locked. Hannah reached for the door bell and rang it several times, waiting impatiently for someone to open.


	7. Chapter 7

_New Chapter :)_

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**Chapter Seven**

Jack sat on the couch with his head buried in his hands. It felt like his whole world was falling apart. He shook his head violently. How could this be happening? Jack asked himself as he rose from the couch, still having his face buried in his palms. He knew he was a trained professional to stay calm in any situation, but right now he was seriously losing it. Dropping his hands, Jack squeezed his eyes shut. I can't do this, not again, Jack told himself miserably.

Jack grabbed the vase on the coffee table and threw it against the wall in front of him, causing small pieces of the glass mixed with flowers to fall to the ground.

Taking a deep breath, the doctor sat back down on the couch. The house once more filled with silence.

It was very rare that the house was quiet. Jack couldn't even remember the last time he had been home all by himself.

A small smile crept up on his lips as he thought of Hannah and William playing on the living room floor, or out in the garden. He really didn't mind the noise. He hated the silence that was now hovering over the house.

It had been his day with Hannah. He had taken the whole day off, to spend with his daughter. He had planned a bunch of things and had been really excited about it himself. Lately he had been working a lot, spending very little time at home. A day off with Hannah had been exactly what he had needed.

The fun had ended at lunch, in the park. Why had they gone to that park, of all the damn parks in Los Angeles? Jack thought sadly to himself.

The woman at the playground had forbid him to contact the police. She'd said that they would kill Hannah if he told anybody. Jack closed his eyes, remembering the black-dressed woman's exact words. 'If you tell the cops or your wife, or anybody else for that matter, I will personally make sure you never get to see your daughter again.'

Jack swallowed a sob, still having his eyes tightly shut. He hadn't told anybody. He wanted to, but it was definitely not worth the risk. The only call he had made today, had been to the bank.

They had given him 48 hours to get a million dollars. An amount of money he didn't have, but he knew he could take out a loan on the house. The house was easily worth enough to do that.

Jack glanced at the clock. Why hadn't they called yet? The woman had said that they would call with further instructions in a few hours. It had been almost 5 hours now. What if something had gone wrong? Jack had felt a tiny bit of comfort in the fact that they had promised him Hannah back unharmed, if he just gave them the money. But if things hadn't gone according to the plans, could he be sure that they wouldn't hurt her?

Jack heard the door bell ring, for the fifth time this afternoon. The children in the neighborhood had been entertaining themselves for hours, prank calling on all the doors on the street. The last time Jack had gotten really upset and had started yelling on his porch, hoping that the kids had heard him.

Jack had reluctantly paced to the front door, almost hoping that it indeed was the next door kids. He just hoped that it wouldn't be anyone he knew, fearing that they would know that something was wrong and he ended up telling them what had happened. Jack told himself that he would not tell anyone anything, no matter what, since it could put his daughter in more danger.

Opening the door, Jack didn't at first see the little girl dressed in the worn out beige jacket. After a very quick glance straight ahead, Jack was about to close the door again. He did not have the energy to deal with any more pranks.

_"Daddy!"_ The excited voice interrupted him and made his eyes fall to see the small girl standing just a couple of feet away from him.

"_Oh my God! Hannah!"_ Jack fell to his knees and embraced his daughter. He had feared moments earlier that his daughter might not even be alive. Tears of relief were filling up his eyes as he pulled her away from him, still holding her in a steady grip. _"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"_ His eyes darted over her small body, looking for any signs of injuries.

"_No daddy, I'm fine"_ The little girl actually rolled her eyes, obviously very used to her father's protectiveness.

"_But Kate's hurt"_ Hannah added, remembering that her new friend had hit her head earlier.

"_Who's Kate?"_ Jack asked his daughter, narrowing his eyes in puzzlement.

The child turned around, looking confused by the fact that there was no one standing right behind her. _"Kate?"_ Hannah called out loudly.

Jack stood back up and looked warily out over the empty front yard. Who was she talking about? Jack felt a wave of anxiousness hit him. Was this Kate-person one of the kidnappers? Maybe even the woman who had talked to him in the park?

Hannah ran back down the approach and disappeared around the gate to the garden.

_"Hannah!"_ Jack shouted after her, pacing down to the street too.

When he got to the gate, Jack peered around the corner down the street. Hannah was just a few steps away, dragging a young woman by the hand back towards him.

Hannah gave her dad a delighted smile, now standing right next to him, still holding the woman's hand.

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but closet it almost immediately. He had no idea what to say. Looking directly at the brunette, Jack came to the conclusion that she at least wasn't any kind of threat to either him or Hannah.

The woman appeared to be in pretty bad condition. She looked young, Jack wasn't positive that she was much older than twenty. Her clothes were worn out and she didn't even have outdoor clothes on. Jack also noted that she looked frightened, maybe not of him but he could tell that there was something scaring her.

_"This is Kate!"_ The child exclaimed, as if her father wouldn't have realized that already.

Jack looked back into the brunettes hazel green eyes. She was really beautiful, Jack thought to himself, as he noticed the small cut on her forehead.

_"She helped me find you"_ Hannah explained truthfully, looking back and forth between the adults as if she was waiting for one of them to speak.

Kate let her eyes fall to the ground, looking very uncomfortable. _"I saw you at the park earlier today"_ She began explaining, even though no question had been made out loud. _"I don't know what happened, but these people suddenly had Hannah and were trying to get her to go with them. I kind of acted before thinking and just grabbed her..."_ She trailed off, nervously chewing on her lip.

The woman was still staring at the ground when Jack out of no where brought her into a tight hug. Feeling her body go tense in his arms, Jack eased his grip and pulled away.

Jack's hands were still lingering on her arms. She was freezing, he thought to himself. No wonder, she was just wearing a thin top. Glancing down at his daughter, Jack realized that she was wearing a much too large beige jacket.

_"I don't know how I'll ever repay you."_ Jack said, once more gazing into the beautiful woman's eyes.

A small shy smile appeared on Kate's lips. _"That's okay, I'm just glad Hannah is alright."_

Jack smiled back, realizing that he still had his hands resting on her arms. She was definitely ice cold. Clear his throat, Jack let his arms drop to his sides. "If you want, you can come in side and dry up. I could also take a look at your cut." Jack said, gesturing for his own forehead.

Kate seemed uncomfortable at the proposition, her eyes darting around, looking at anything but the handsome doctor in front of her. _"No, that's okay. I should get back home."_

_"I'll drive you"_ Jack instantly answered.

The brunette shook her head graciously. _"You don't have to…"_ She trailed off, suddenly looking very hesitative.

_"You saved my daughters life, it's the least I can do."_

Kate nibbled on her bottom lip, looking deep in thought. _"On second thought, that would be great, since I don't actually have any money to get back."_ Kate divulged, looking a bit embarrassed.

Jack looked pleased that she had agreed to let him drive her. _"Well, I have the car keys inside."_

Jack took his daughter's hand out of habit and turn towards the house. The three of them walked together up to the house, Hannah in the middle, holding both the adults by their hand.

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_now press the lil purple button ;)_


	8. Chapter 8

_Thx for all the great reviews :) _

_new chappie for you guys..._

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**Chapter Eight**

Kate couldn't help but gasp as she entered the house. The place was amazing, it looked more like a mansion than a typical family house.

Almost as soon as they got inside, Kate could feel Hannah letting go of her hand. Even though Hannah was just a child, it was the only thing that felt familiar right now and the feeling of safety disappeared as the child ran down the hallway and disappeared into a room.

Kate followed the tall man into the living room. Afraid that she would get the almost white furniture dirty, Kate reluctantly sat down, when the doctor gestured for the couch.

The brunette let her eyes travel over the light room. The walls and most of the furniture were in soft colors, giving the room a very welcoming feeling and most of the walls had either beautiful paintings or family photographs hanging on them.

Kate's eyes settled on a specific photo, which had been placed on the shelf above the fireplace. It was a picture of Hannah and a small brown haired boy, who had a strong resemblance to the girl. Both dressed in white, sitting on a navy blue towel, on what Kate guessed was a sail boat. She could tell the photo was relatively new, since Hannah looked to be about the same age as she was now.

Most of the photographs contained either Hannah or the small boy, a few of the doctor and a blonde woman and a couple of all four of them together.

Kate continued to inspect the room and her eyes fell on the broken vase just as Hannah came running into the living room carrying a huge stuffed animal.

_"Hannah, don't run there"_ Jack said firmly as he reentered the room as well, motioning to the broken glass on the floor.

Hannah froze in her position, glancing down at the shards before running around them over to the couch.

Holding up the huge stuffed animal in front of Kate's face, Hannah waited eagerly for the brunette to say something.

Before she had a chance to open her mouth Jack came over and took the stuffed animal out of Hannah's hands. _"Princess, maybe you could show your toys to Miss Kate later."_ His voice was patient and loving, but at the same time firm.

Hannah responded with a small disappointed nod, which rewarded her with the stuffed animal back. Jack carefully walked around the couch and placed a blanked over Kate's shoulders.

Kate gave him a small appreciated smile as he sat down on the couch next to her. _"How did you get this?"_ He asked softly, as he carefully leaned forward and traced two fingers over the wound on her forehead.

Kate shivered at the touch, telling herself it was because she was still cold. _"Clumsy moment"_ She answered shortly, holding her breath. Jack's eyes locked with hers and Kate suddenly felt very self-conscious about her appearance.

Dropping his hand, Jack gave her an amused smile. _"I'm Jack Shepard by the way."_

Kate nodded slightly, returning the smile. _"Yeah, I know."_

Jack glanced at Hannah who was still standing right next to the couch with the stuffed animal in her arms, waiting patiently for her father to let her show Kate the pink animal.

Kate couldn't help but smile again, the man looked almost worried at the possibility that his young daughter had told her about him.

Jack rose from the couch and gently took one of Hannah's hands, moving her with him as he walked towards the doorway. _"Would you like something to drink, or eat maybe?"_ He offered, turning around to look at the brunette.

_"No, thank you."_ Kate answered a bit warily, watching the doctor leave the room with Hannah.

Feeling a bit awkward that they were still there, Kate shifted nervously on the couch. Wasn't he supposed to just get his car keys and drive her home? And where did he go now? Kate thought nervously, as she once again glanced around in the empty living room.

The transparent glass shards once more caught her attention. It didn't look like the vase had been placed anywhere near where its remains were lying. She got the feeling someone had actually thrown it across the room. The thought made her more nervous. Had there been a big fight that had ending somewhat violently? Kate looked around again in the room, but found nothing else out of place.

A few minutes passed. Kate still sitting on the couch, started to feel really apprehensive. She was about to go look for Jack just as the man walked back into the room.

He was carrying a sweatshirt over one of his arms and holding Hannah's hand with his opposite one. The little girl was now dressed in purple pajamas, carrying a new stuffed animal under her arm.

Jack let go of the small hand and walked over to the couch. Leaning forward, he gently placed a band-aid on Kate's cut, giving her a shy smile as he pulled away.

_"Thank you"_ Kate said quietly, as Jack handed over the grey sweatshirt.

With a grateful look, Kate rose from her seat, letting the blanket fall down to the couch. Putting the sweatshirt on, Kate realized that she had probably been a lot colder than she had thought. Inhaling the very masculine smell of the shirt, Kate smiled to herself, already feeling much warmer with the soft grey material wrapped around her.

Noticing that Jack gave her a curious look, Kate could feel herself blush. God I hope he didn't just see me sniffing his shirt, Kate thought, feeling embarrassed.

Jack cleared his throat and turned to his daughter._ "Hannah sweetie, go put your jacket on"_ turning back to Kate, he smiled gently._ "Ready to go?"_

Kate responded with a small nod and followed the two Shepard's out to the hallway. Jack helped Hannah on with her jacket, which was tricky since the child refused to let go of her stuffed animal. Smiling at the scene in front of her, Kate quickly glanced around in the hall. It looked too perfect, like she had walked into a home decorating magazine.

Jack handed the still wet beige jacket back to Kate, with an appreciating smile on his face.

Kate gave him a weak smile back, feeling slightly bad because she knew that Jack thought the only reason his daughter had been wearing the jacket was to keep her warm.

Kate looked around curiously as they walked to the garage. The house and garden were just amazing. No way that they took care of all of this by themselves. They probably had a gardener and at least one housekeeper, Kate thought as Jack opened the garage door, exposing two very nice looking cars.

As soon as the garage door was up, Hannah sprinted for the red vehicle one to the left.

"Princess, daddy's car" Jack informed firmly, walking over to the black vehicle himself. Kate watched fascinated as Hannah froze in her step and turned around, giving Jack a pleading look. The doctor didn't make any sign that he had even seen it as he opened the door behind the driver seat.

Hannah reluctantly walked over and climbed into the car hugging her stuffed toy tightly as her father fastened her seatbelt. Closing the door, Jack gestured for Kate to get in the car as well.

Sitting down, Kate placed her wet jacket on the floor, not wanting to get the seat more wet than necessary. Remembering that she had sat on the white couch in the living room with her soaked jeans, Kate let out a sigh.

They hadn't been driving for more than a minute when Hannah's voice was heard from the backseat. _"Daddy, are we still going on a picnic today?"_

_"I don't think so princess its getting very late. We'll go tomorrow, ok?"_ Jack answered casually.

_"But we promised mommy that we would go today…"_ the girl insisted, sounding upset that her father had told her no.

_"I don't think mommy will mind if we change it to tomorrow."_ Jack said firmly, giving Hannah a stern look in the rear-view mirror, ending the conversation.

Kate carefully glanced at Jack who looked incredibly uncomfortable. She wondered why. Judging by the conversation it had to do with Hannah's mother. It couldn't very well be the picnic, could it?

Realizing that there hadn't been anyone else at the house, Kate suspected that maybe Hannah's parents were divorced. That would explain why he wasn't too keen on talking about it, especially not in front of her, a stranger. But in that case, why were her car in his garage?

Letting her eyes fall to his left hand which was placed on the steer wheel, Kate noticed the wedding ring he was wearing. So much for the divorce-theory, Kate thought, shrugging the whole thing off her mind.

_"Kate, see my puppy!"_ Hannah suddenly exclaimed from the backseat, giving Kate the biggest smile possible when she turned around to look at the child.

Hannah was proudly holding up the white stuffed dog in front of her. _"He's very cute"_ Kate said lovingly, turning back to look at the road.

Feeling Jack's eyes on her, Kate tilted her head to look at him. _"She's obsessed with stuffed animals."_ Jack explained, sounding amused.

_"I thought all kids were"_ Kate answered with a small smile, gazing in to the man's deep brown eyes.

Jack seemed to be looking directly into her eyes as well but suddenly snapped his attention back to the road. Kate slowly let her eyes travel back to the road in front of them as well.

_"Where are we going?"_ Hannah asked curiously, letting out a small yawn.

_"We're driving Ms Kate home."_ Jack answered softly, glancing up in the rear-view mirror. Kate saw in the corner of her eye how the man smiled adorably as he watched the little girl in the back seat.

A few minutes later, Hannah had fallen asleep hugging her white puppy closely. It wasn't until then Kate understood why Jack had dressed the girl in her pajamas. He had panned to carry her directly from the car to her bed when they got back home.

_"So what do you do Kate?"_ Jack asked politely.

Kate shifted uncomfortable in her seat, unsure what to answer. You know the usual, work, eat, sleep and run from the law. Noticing that Jack was glancing at her questioningly, she cleared her throat. _"I work as a waitress"_ Kate said, her voice not very convincing. It wasn't really a lie. She did work as a waitress from time to time. But not recently. It was hard to find a waitress job, especially in Los Angeles, without any proper papers to show.

_"That's nice I bet you meet a lot of interesting people then."_ Jack said, staring at the road in front of them.

_"Yeah"_ Kate answered simply, trying to think of something to say to change the subject. _"What kind of doctor are you?"_

_"Spinal surgeon"_ Jack answer just as shortly, obviously not thrilled with the new topic.

A comfortable silence fell over the car. The only sounds heard were the traffic outside and an occasional sound from the sleeping child in the backseat.

Kate was starting to feel tired, fearing that she would fall asleep she stretched out her legs and sat up more erect in the seat. It didn't do much good and just a few minutes later Kate felt her eyelids getting heavier, soon unable to open them back up after blinking.

Kate heard someone call her name and shot her eyes open, feeling very disoriented. Realizing that she was still in the car, she turned her head towards Jack.

_"Hey, sorry for waking you, but I kind of need directions."_ The doctor said apologizing.

Explaining for the man how to get to her place, Kate soon had fallen back into her peaceful sleep. She woke up when the car stopped, once more feeling confused about her whereabouts.

_"I guess we're here."_ Jack said softly, glaring out of the window, not looking too impressed by the buildings surrounding them.

_"Yeah"_ Kate said shortly, unsure what else to say as she took off her seatbelt. Glancing behind her at Hannah, Kate smiled._ "Could you tell Hannah that I had a really good time today?"_ Kate asked the girl's father with a bashful look on her face.

_"Sure"_ Jack answered with a smile.

Kate bit her lip, feeling a bit awkward at the silence.

_"Here"_ Jack said, handing her a small white card. _"If you ever need anything, anything at all, promise you'll give me a call"_

Giving him a small nod, Kate opened her door and stepped out of the car. _"Thanks for the ride"_

_"Kate…"_

The man's voice made her catch the door just as she was about to close it.

_"Thanks"_ Jack said in a sweet tone, giving her a genuine smile.

Kate smiled back at him and gave him a small nod before closing the door. Walking slowly to her front door, fingering with the small card in her hand, Kate could see the black car disappear in the corner of her eye.

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_please r&r :)_


	9. Chapter 9

_Thx again for the reviews :)_

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**Chapter Nine**

Jack was feeling tired himself as he parked the car in the garage. Gently lifting Hannah up into his arms, he carried the most precious thing in his life back to the house and into her room. Placing the little girl on the bed filled with stuffed animals, Jack leaned down and kissed Hannah's forehead, whispering good night.

Jack stayed by the door, watching Hannah sleep for a few minutes before leaving the room. He still felt all shaken up by the day's events and watching Hannah seemed to be the only thing that had a calming affect on him.

Walking in to the living room, Jack's eyes fell on the couch where the young brunette had been sitting hours before. He just couldn't get her out of his head. Closing his eyes he could picture her still being there. Shaking the thought out of his head, Jack went to clean up the broken vase but changed his mind and just let it be. Maria would take care of that in the morning, Jack thought, leaving the living room heading off to the master bedroom.

Throwing his clothes off on the floor, Jack crashed down on the bed. He's head was spinning and he had a feeling he wouldn't get much sleep. Wishing he had called the hospital and taken another day off, Jack finally gave into the exhaustion his body apparently was over flooded with.

Jack woke up a few hours later, restlessly turning around in the bed, still with his eyes closed. Gently placing a hand on the empty spot next to him on the bed, Jack opened his eyes tiredly, realizing that he was alone. Letting out a sigh, the doctor forced himself into a sitting position before getting up, leaving the bedroom.

Strolling around in the quiet house, Jack suddenly found himself in Sarah's art studio. He didn't usually go in there, he had always respected that it was her home-getaway.

He traced his fingers across the half finished painting on the easel. Glancing around the room, Jack's eyes settled on one of the bookcases. Walking over, Jack continued to trace his fingers on everything he passed. Looking down at his now slightly grey fingers Jack noticed that most of the items on the bookshelves where dusty. Sarah never let Maria in there to clean and she'd probably never cleaned the room herself, Jack thought, once more glancing around in the studio.

_"Daddy?"_ The soft voice of his 4 year old daughter was heard from behind him.

Turning around, Jack smiled at Hannah. _"What are you doing up Princess?"_

The girl gave him an apologizing smile _"You're not supposed to be in here. Mommy's gonna get mad!"_

Jack just smiled back at her as he walked over and scooped her up in his arms. Holding her close, Jack could feel all his problems just being washed away from his mind.

Slowly walking back to his bedroom, Jack felt Hannah resting her head on his shoulder as she let out a small yawn.

Placing the girl down on his bed, Jack lay down next to her, watching her until sleep once more took him.

Waking with a startle as the alarm clock going off, Jack noted that Hannah was no longer lying on her mother's side of the bed. Feeling slightly worried, Jack get up and paced around the house.

Entering the kitchen, Jack was met but the wonderful smell of coffee. Just a few steps into the room, a dark haired woman placed a big cup with the hot liquid in his hand.

_"Good morning Mr. Shepard"_ Maria said warmly, turning back to the kitchen counter, preparing breakfast.

_"Morning Maria"_ Jack greeted young woman, taking a set next to Hannah at the table. _"Good morning Princess"_

The little girl was drawing a picture with her crayons but glanced up quickly on her father and gave him a greeting smile. When Hannah turned her attention back to the drawing, Jack leaned closer to the girl. Hannah was drawing a bus, which made Jack smile slightly. Hannah tilted her head up when she noticed that he was looking at her drawing. _"It's for mom"_ She said explained joyfully, turning back to coloring the bus.

_"It's beautiful"_ Jack said encouraging, as he started to eat the breakfast Maria had placed in front of him.

Looking dimly through the news paper, Jack nibbled on a toast, glancing at Hannah in the corner of his eye.

Jack groaned as he glanced at the watch. He was late, as usually. "I gotta go" Jack muttered, finishing his coffee. "I'm going to take the afternoon off, so I'll pick you up later and we can have that picnic." Jack waited a few seconds for the young girl to respond but continued when she made no indication to speak. _"Amy will be here soon. I want you to stay inside today."_ Jack said, the words almost getting stuck in his throat, thinking about what had almost happened yesterday. Thank God for Kate. A small smile appeared on his lips.

Hannah glanced up at him, pouting. _"I wanna go to the park!"_

_"No park!"_ Jack said firmly. _"We'll go out when I get back, ok?"_

Hannah shot him stern look but gave him a small defeated nod.

_"I love you"_ Jack said softly as he leaned over placed a kiss on his daughter's forehead. _"Bye Princess. Bye Maria, thanks for breakfast"_

Jack once more regretted not taking the whole day off as he drove his daily long route to work. He hated mornings, he had to leave unreasonably early to be at the hospital at 8 o'clock, forced to leave Hannah with the housekeeper until Amy got there at 7:30.

Sarah and he had been planning on moving for quite some time. They had no real connection to Brentwood, other than Hannah's preschool. Since Jack worked downtown at the hospital and Sarah spent the days at home, they had come to the conclusion that there was no reason to stay. Sarah had been hunting for new houses for months but never found a building she liked.

Jack tightened his grip on the steer wheel. Things were different now, Jack thought to himself. He would never be able to leave the house. No matter what happened, he was now doomed to stay in Brentwood.

Immediately after arriving to his office, Jack called the house, informing Amy that she was not to take Hannah outside. The young girl sounded confused but assured him that if he didn't want them to leave the house they would stay there until he got back.

Jack had managed to sneak off from work at noon. Feeling stressed out and completely exhausted, he knew that he would never have been able to stay for another minute at the hospital.

It was raining, heavily. Jack sighed loudly in the car, knowing that he was going to have to postpone the picnic his young daughter had been looking forward to so much. He hated disappointing her. The look on her face when he broke a promise to her was enough to bring him to his knees.

Stepping into the hallway, Jack followed the muffled voices he heard into the living room. Hannah was sitting cross legged on the floor, surrounded by at least ten stuffed animals. Amy was sitting next to her, holding a stuffed white unicorn in one hand and a small fox in the other.

Noticing her father, Hannah jumped to her feet and ran across the room.

_"Hey Princess"_ Jack said, catching the girl in his arms.

Amy casually greeted the doctor before gathering all the toys and put them back in Hannah's room.

Jack was sitting on the couch with Hannah when Amy came back. Standing in the doorway, Amy reported back to the man what they had been up to during the hours he had been away. It was routine for her to do so. Jack always wanted to know what Hannah had been doing, if maybe she had misbehaved or if she perhaps had learned something new.

Amy didn't have much to tell, considering it had only been a few hours. Hannah had mostly just been drawing pictures in her room. She did inform Jack that the girl had just eaten pasta at lunch, refusing to touch her meatballs, which seemed very odd since it was her favorite dish.

Jack frowned at the information, giving Hannah a confused look but didn't ask her about it. He didn't feel like starting his day with Hannah, by arguing with her about food. Plus, there was not really a point in trying to have a consequential conversation with the stubborn 4 year old. If she hadn't been feeling like eating, there was not much he could do about it.

Walking Amy to the door, Jack thanked her for the day. Closing the door, Jack turned around to find Hannah standing right behind him with a thrilled expression on her face. _"Are we going on the picnic?"_

Jack took a deep breath and crunched down to level with the child. _"It's raining. You don't want to have a picnic in the rain, do you?"_ Jack said, hoping he could get his daughter to not wanting to go, instead of telling her that they wouldn't.

Hannah frowned and looked like she was giving it some thought. _"Can we go see Kate?"_ the girl asked hesitatively.

The question caught Jack off guard. Go see Kate? He had expected her to start scream, telling him she wanted to go on the picnic. He felt terrible that his daughter had gotten so attached to the beautiful brunette. A woman she would probably never met again in her life. Hannah didn't need that, Jack thought to himself.

_"Sweetie, we can't go see Kate. She's probably very busy with her own life."_ Jack said, giving his daughter a sympatric look. _"She wanted me to tell you that she had lots of fun with you yesterday though."_ Jack added with a small smile on his face.

_"But we have to see Kate"_ Hannah said, sounding devastated.

Jack wasn't sure what to respond to that. But before he had a chance to think it over, Hannah continued.

_"I have something that's hers."_ The girl divulged.

_"What?"_ Jack asked confused as Hannah turned around and ran to her room. Jack got up and paced down the corridor and stopped as he entered her room.

_"This"_ Hannah announced, showing her father the small grey item in her palm.

_"A rock…"_ Jack stated giving his daughter a puzzled look.

Hannah glared at him, looking offended by his statement. _"It's not a rock! It's a magical stone. It helps you find things."_ The young girl explained to the doctor.

_"Oh of course"_ Jack said sarcastically. _"You know what Princess, I think Kate wants you to keep it."_

Hannah shook her head. _"No, I promised I would give it back!"_

Not wanting to force his daughter to break a promise she had made, Jack let out a sigh. _"Alright we'll give the rock back."_

_"Magical stone!"_ Hannah exclaimed, giving her father a disapproving look.

_"Magical stone"_ Jack repeated in order to appease his daughter.

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_hope you liked it :)_


	10. Chapter 10

_thank you all so much for the reviews -hands out cookies-_

_new chappie for you :)_

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**Chapter Ten**

Kate woke up feeling both nauseous and dizzy. A state she had come to grow almost used to the last few mornings. Rolling over, she placed a pillow over her head, refusing to wake up and meet the new day.

After a few minutes she gave up, knowing that she would never fall asleep again. Getting up, Kate noted that it was already 11 o'clock. Feeling worried that she had slept that long, Kate walked to the small bathroom and stripped off her clothes before stepping into the shower.

She felt a bit better after the soothing shower. Putting on some relatively clean clothes, Kate sat back down on the makeshift bed, still feeling slightly lightheaded. She told herself the dizziness was caused by the fact that she hadn't eaten properly lately. She didn't even dare to think that the symptoms could mean something else.

Lying back down, Kate closed her eyes, listening to the irregular sounds outside. Unsure if she had fallen asleep or not, Kate opened her eyes when she heard a soft knock on her door. Panic spread through her body as she got up from the bed, staring directly at the door.

Who could it possibly be? No one knew she lived there, right? Kate held her breath, as she slowly walked across the room. Opening the door, Kate let out the breath she had been holding, surprised at who were standing on the other side of it.

_"Hello"_ Jack said awkwardly, looking very much out of place. Kate was sure her expression mirrored the uncomfortable one the doctor had on his face.

_"Hi"_ Kate greeted the man and his young daughter. Suddenly feeling very self-conscious, Kate drew the open shirt she was wearing, over her tank top, closer around her skinny body.

_"Hannah just wanted to return something to you."_ Jack said, still looking directly at her.

Kate frowned. What could Hannah possibly want to return to her? Fast playing through the previous day in her head, Kate still had no idea what the man was talking about.

Glancing down at the short brown haired girl, Kate could tell from the huge smile on her face that Hannah was happy to see her again. Hannah held out her right hand, revealing the small pebble Kate had given her in the park.

Kate let out a chuckle when she saw it._ "Thank you Hannah"_ Kate said sincerely taking the rock from the child.

_"I hope you'll find what you're looking for."_ Hannah said thoughtfully as she reached up and took her father's hand.

Kate gave the girl a contemplative look, obviously touched by the words. She had a feeling she was blushing, not even sure why. She gave the young girl an appreciative smile and a faint nod.

Kate took a quick step to her side and grabbed the sweatshirt she had borrowed the day before. Coming back to the door, Kate handed the shirt over to its owner.

Jack hesitated before taking it, looking as if he was going to say something but instead he took the garment with a small nod.

_"I have something else that's yours."_ Kate walked back into the room, making Jack and Hannah follow right behind her.

Kate fiddled in a box and finally found what she had been looking for. Turning around she handed the blue plastic hair band back to the man as well.

She could tell that he was scanning the room, closely. She suddenly felt uncomfortable, no that was not it. She felt exposed. Nibbling on her lip, Kate started to wish that they would leave.

_"We're going to get something to eat. If you want you're welcome to join us."_ Jack said quietly, suddenly looking a bit nervous.

Kate wanted to say no. But her whole body screamed at her for even thinking of declining. Knowing that she just couldn't turn down a free meal, she gave the man a small nod. _"I'd like that."_

Jack glanced around once more in the room before heading back to the door. _"Are you ready to go right now?"_

_"Yeah"_ Kate answered, following the man out to his car, watching once more how he carefully lifted his daughter up in her car seat before putting on her seatbelt.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the car. Kate was praying that Hannah would say something to ease the tension. Why was it suddenly so strained between them? There was no reason for anything to be uncomfortable between them. She didn't even know him, Kate told herself. How could she be so nervous around him?

The car came to a stop and all three of them left the vehicle. Jack opened a black umbrella and took a step closer to Kate, shielding her off from the rain. They walked closely together, down the sidewalk towards the restaurant, with Hannah walking right in front of them holding her own small umbrella.

Walking in, Kate felt out of place. Not only was she in the company of a man dressed in a very nice looking suit, but she could tell that the place was fancy. She should have dressed up. She almost let out a small laugh at the thought. Dress up in what?

Feeling Jack's hands on her shoulders, Kate flinched and snapped her head around. The doctor's expression turned nervous as he nodded towards the cloakroom in front of them.

Kate blushed slightly realizing that he had only meant to take her jacket. Slipping the jacket off, Kate gave it to Jack who handed over his own coat, Kate's jacket and Hannah's small one to the woman standing next to them.

They were seated by a table next to a large window with a beautiful view. The waiter handed the adults a menu each and left them to decide what to order.

Kate's eyes immediately fell on the prices to the right of her menu, which made her shift uncomfortable on her chair.

When the waiter came back, Jack glanced up at her with a questioning look, asking whether she had decided what she wanted or not. Kate nibbled slightly on her lower lip before once more letting her eyes fall to the menu.

She could hear Jack ordering 'Chicken Parmesan' to himself before feeling his eyes burning on her again. Lowering the menu, Kate looked up nervously on the waiter. _"Vegetarian Lasagna"_

Jack smiled at her before turning to his daughter who looked a bit cranky at the fact that she hadn't been given her own menu. _"What do you want Sweetie?"_

Hannah darted her eyes between the two adults thoughtfully before answering. _"Same as Kate"_

Kate stared at Hannah in surprise, before nervously glancing over at Jack. The man didn't look very surprised at all by his daughter's dinner choice and just nodded to the waiter who wrote it down.

The waiter also scribbled down what they wanted to drink, before leaving the guests alone.

Kate watched Hannah as she played discreetly with her napkin until Jack gave his daughter a warning look, making Hannah placed it neatly in her lap. Kate glanced down at her own napkin and unfolded it, placing it in her own lap. When she looked up again she could see Jack giving her a small amused smile.

She probably looked like an idiot, Kate thought to herself as she broke eye contact with the handsome doctor. She let her eyes fall down to her lap, looking at the fancy napkin. She had never been to a restaurant as nice as this one before. It was probably not even as fancy and expensive as Kate considered it, she knew LA had a lot of classy restaurants.

It didn't take long until their food was placed on the table. Kate felt herself completely hypnotized by the plate of lasagna in front of her. Unsteadily grabbing her cutlery, Kate started cutting a piece of the lasagna. Placing it in her mouth, Kate almost let out a small moan as she chewed it. The only thing she had eaten in the last three days had been a few of Hannah's French fries.

Just a few bites later Kate started to feel sick. It felt like she had already eaten twice the amount of food that had been on her plate, when she in reality hadn't even eaten half.

She felt watched, not sure if she wanted to look up and meet Jack's eyes. Reluctantly glancing up, Kate was met by a very concerned look. _"You okay?"_ The doctor asked, sounding very alarmed.

Kate gave him a small unconvincing nod, before turning her attention back to her plate. She hadn't touched her food in the last five minutes. No wonder he thought something was wrong.

Kate picked around in the food with her fork, feeling terrible that she wasn't eating considering how much the dinner would cost Jack.

Hannah on the other hand had happily eaten almost all of her lasagna and was now giving her father an adorable smile. _"Daddy please can I have ice cream? I haven't eated it for a very long time."_

_"Eaten"_ Jack and Kate corrected at the same time, making Jack chuckle amused.

Kate blushed and let her eyes fall to the table. You idiot, you don't correct other people's children in front of them, Kate's mind screamed in her head.

_"And no you can't have ice cream"_ Jack said as a beeping sound was heard, making the man let out a frustrated sigh. Kate looked at him curiously as he glanced at the small black beeper in his hand.

_"It's the hospital. I have to go"_ Jack said miserably, looking back up at Kate and then moving his eyes over to Hannah.

Kate couldn't read the expression on his face as his eyes met hers again. He looked deep in thought, like he was trying to solve a complicated riddle.

_"Do you think that maybe you could take Hannah back to my house?"_ Jack asked, looking slightly insecure.

Kate opened her mouth to answer but Jack cut her off.

_"I could ask her nanny to come down here and pick her up, but it would take her like an hour to get here. If you could just take her up to the house, I'll get the nanny to take Hannah as soon as you get there."_

_"Sure. You know… I could baby sit her if you want to… you don't have to call her nanny."_ Kate felt herself stumble on the words. Immediately regretting what she had said. Why would he want her to baby-sit if he had a professional nanny to cover it?

Jack looked surprised at her offer, glancing down at his daughter.

_"I'm not a baby. I don't need a babysitter."_ Hannah muttered, glaring over at Kate.

Kate blushed at the remark from the girl. Regretting what she had said even more.

_"I'm sure Miss Kate knows you're not a baby Hannah."_ Jack said softly to his daughter, while giving Kate a small mischievous smile. _"I think what Miss Kate meant was that she could play with you until I get back from work."_

Hannah's face lit up, obviously catching on to the conversation. _"Oh yes daddy! Can she please?"_ the child sounded overexcited, almost jumping up and down on her chair.

Jack gave Hannah an agreeing nod, before turning back to Kate with a smile on his face._ "I think that's a great idea"_

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_hoped you guys liked it..._


	11. Chapter 11

_thx for the reviews :)_

_there is a jateful chap for you! hope you'll like it ;)_

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**Chapter Eleven**

Kate felt strange fiddling with Jack's keys, trying to open the front door to his house. She was still shocked that the man had without hesitation handed over not only his daughter to her, but the key to his house.

Jack had given her 50 dollars to a cab ride back to Brentwood. She couldn't remember the last time she had had that much money. It didn't take long until she had been forced to hand the money over to the cab driver though.

Letting herself and Hannah into the house, Kate closed the door firmly and locked it. She put the keys on a small table in the hallway before helping Hannah off with her jacket.

Stepping into the living room, Kate stated that it looked just like it had yesterday, apart from the broken vase that had been on the floor. Hannah walked up behind her and grabbed her hand, dragging the adult back out to the hallway and down a corridor. Kate hastily glanced into the rooms they passed, when Hannah suddenly took a sharp turn and pulled Kate with her into a room.

Kate looked around, feeling completely mesmerized. The room was huge, divided into a sleep area as well as a play area. The walls were in a light comfortable pink color and most of the furniture was white.

She couldn't believe a four year old could have such an amazing room. It was suspiciously tidy everything looked perfect, from the toys on the shelves to the stuffed animals placed all around the room. The bed was huge too, ridiculously large for a child.

After Hannah had proudly shown Kate her room, the two of them took a tour of the rest of the house.

Kate knew the girl for some reason had skipped a few rooms during the tour. Not wanting to push it, Kate had just acted as if she hadn't noticed. Maybe Hannah hadn't even realized it, Kate reasoned with herself in an attempt to control her curiosity.

They had played with the little girl's stuffed animals for over an hour. Kate had frequently been glancing at the watch, wondering around what time it would be appropriate to send Hannah to bed but also wondering when Jack would get back. He hadn't exactly said anything about it, just 'as soon as he could'.

She had never thought it was so much work to take care of a four year old. Fortunately was Hannah amazingly well behaved, Kate wasn't sure she could have handled this task otherwise.

At 8 o'clock, Kate had managed to have Hannah dressed in pajamas with her teeth brushed. The girl had persuaded the older brunette to read her a story, which had ended in Kate falling asleep with a book across her stomach next to Hannah on the bed. Hannah, who usually got slightly irritated when an adult would fall asleep without finishing a story, hadn't even tried to wake Kate back up. Instead she pulled her cover up over Kate, snuggled closer and fell sleep as well.

Kate woke up with a startle, hearing a foreign sound. It took her a few seconds to realize that she had fallen sleep in Hannah's room. No wonder she had, the bed was incredibly comfortable.

Hearing the sound again, Kate identified it as the door bell. Kate checked the watch on the young girl's nightstand before heading to the hallway. It was only 9 o'clock. She hadn't even been asleep for an hour, but it easily felt like she had slept for a whole day.

It felt weird opening someone else's front door, especially to let the actual owner of the residence in. Jack didn't seem to have the same awkward feeling as he sluggishly walked in after Kate had opened the door.

He looked exhausted, like he had been to hell and back, Kate thought sadly to herself as she followed Jack into the living room.

Watching as he poured himself a drink before lazily sitting down on the couch, Kate was hit with a disturbing feeling, realizing that he still hadn't even greeted her.

Standing a few feet away from the couch, Kate just continued to watch the doctor. Jack's suddenly buried his face in one of his hands as his expression changed to one of pain and totally misery, making Kate walk over and sit down next to him. _"You okay?"_ She asked softly, placing a hand on his arm.

Jack looked at her, giving her a solemnly nod, sounding as if he swallowed a sob.

Kate instinctually brought the man she had just known for a day into a close hug. She could feel him lean into the much needed comfort as he placed his hands on her back.

Not wanting to pull back, Kate stayed in her position. She knew she had needed the comfort of strong arms holding her maybe just as much as the man. Feeling Jack slowly loosen his grip around her, Kate reluctantly eased hers as well.

Jack had moved his hands to her waist, but pulled his body away enough from hers to see her properly. The pain in his brown eyes was evident and made her expression turn sympatric, her eyes slowly filling up with tears.

She didn't see it coming. She hadn't even noticed that he had leaned closer to her again, not until his lips suddenly crashed down her hers. Startled, Kate felt him move his mouth eagerly over her lips. Without giving it any real thought, Kate responded to the kiss, bring her hands up to his face. Feeling her respond made Jack bring even more passion in to the kiss as he pried her lips open with his tongue.

They fell backwards on the couch with Jack on top as both pair of hands impatiently started to explore the other body. Kate felt the man pull back slightly, resting his forehead against her, breathing heavily. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, even though she was looking directly in to his eyes. They had turned a shade darker, gazing back into her hazel green ones.

He suddenly leaned down again, kissing her more gently but still needy. His hand had found its way into her chocolate brown hair and the other one had a firm grip around her waist.

Kate felt her body respond to his, not even sure if she wanted it to. There was something about him that just made her lose all her self-control, she couldn't push him away it somehow felt physically impossible.

Feeling Jack's hands slide the already open dress shirt off her shoulders, Kate shivered as his hands came in contact with her now bare arms. She shakily placed her hands on his chest, starting to undo the buttons of the white shirt he was wearing.

Kate felt a moan escape her lips as Jack started placing soft kisses down her neck, gently moving her curly hair out of the way. Her hands had fallen to her sides on the couch, no longer able to work on his buttons as Jack continued the trace kisses up her jaw line before once more capturing her lips.

Feeling the weight that had been pressing her down against the couch suddenly ease, Kate opened her eyes and saw that Jack had sat back up. Jack gently pulled her up against him, placing his hands on her lower back, slowly sliding his hands up under her tank top.

Kate drew him closer and reached up, once more connecting their lips together as her hands started caressing his neck. Breaking the kiss, Jack smoothly pulled the tank top over her head, letting it fall to the floor next to them. She could tell that he was taking her in, his eyes inspecting her body thoroughly.

She knew her whole body looked worn down, especially without her clothes. Not eating a decent meal in months, never relaxing and always running had that effect on most people. Shifting uncomfortable on the couch now just wearing her jeans and bra, Kate's expression turned slightly nervous.

Jack placed one of his hands on her cheek before leaning down, giving her a soft kiss. _"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen"_ He whispered reassuringly against her lips, before capturing them with his own again.

Feeling Jack lowering her back down on couch, Kate wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, once more diving in to the hungry and needy kisses they were sharing.

Kate had lost all track of time as he felt Jack break away from her. He was looking down at her with lustful eyes, which sent a shiver through her body. Jack's expression suddenly turned serious._ "How old are you?"_

Kate couldn't help letting out a chuckle. _"What?"_ her voice was full of amusement. Why in the name of God would he start small talking 'now'?

The look on Jack's face turned even more serious, making Kate understand that the man wasn't goofing around, he really wanted to know.

_"I'm 24"_ Kate divulged, waiting curiously for the man's reaction.

Jack let out a breath. A small relieved smile appeared on his lips as he leaned down to her face.

Kate frowned at the response he had made and shot him an unimpressed look. _"How old did you think I was?"_

_"I don't know, 20, 22 maybe."_ Jack answered truthfully, once again trying to lean down to kiss her, only to have Kate stop him again.

_"Then why did you ask?"_

_"Just wanted to make sure you weren't like 16 or something."_ Jack said, let out a nervous chuckle.

Kate looked shocked at the answer. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed up at him. _"You think I look 16?"_ She was used to people believing that she was 20, but no one had ever guessed that she would be 16. The thought of Jack thinking that, for some reason hurt.

_"No"_ Jack immediately answered obviously realizing that he had said something stupid. _"I told you, I thought you looked 20, 22."_

Kate dropped it, she knew it was ridiculous to be upset about it. He had after all not said that he thought she looked like a teenager.

Kate reached up and forcefully grabbed the man's collar, pulling him down to her again. She heard him moan low in his throat, as she kissed him hard whilst unbuttoning his shirt. Removing the shirt, Kate felt like she for the first time gotten some control back.

Moving her hands over his now bare muscular chest, Kate felt all over willpower slowly washing away again. Jack had started sucking lightly on her neck, which was obviously driving her crazy.

God he smells great, Kate thought before once more letting herself being completely lost in their actions.

_"Kate…"_ Jack mumbled against her lips, trying to get her attention._ "Maybe we should move to the bedroom…"_

The suggestion made Kate break the kiss. She knew that if they moved to his bedroom there was no turning back. She didn't want to turn back though, but she had an uneasy feeling about moving to his bed.

_"What's wrong with the couch?"_ Kate asked gazing up on Jack who was hovering over her.

_"I just don't want my 4 year old daughter to walk right in here"_ Jack whispered, sounding a bit amused by his own statement.

She could feel herself beginning to come to her senses, for the first time actually being aware of the fact that the handsome doctor was literally on top of her. What the heck was she doing? Suddenly Jack's weight on her chest made it hard for her to breath. Bringing her hands up between them, she pushed him off of her, only to receive a confused look from the doctor.

What had she been thinking? When had she decided to have sex with this man that she didn't even know? It must have been in the last few minutes because she for sure had not had those intentions when she had given him that comforting hug.

Kate just sat staring at Jack, whose expression had turned from confusion to concern.

She saw Jack lean towards her in slow-motion. She felt completely powerless again, unable to do anything but meet his soft kiss.

Kate couldn't believe how much his touch affected her. He knew exactly where to kiss her and how to touch her to make her whole body crumble. It felt like they had done this before, thousands of times, like he already knew ever inch of her body by heart.

Once more finding herself underneath Jack on the couch, Kate leaned up and whispered huskily in his ear. _"Let's move to the bedroom."_

Stumbling down the corridor to Jack's room, the pair never broke their kiss. Jack was kissing her with so much passion she was sure that if he hadn't been holding her close, her knees would have failed her and she had most likely ended up in a pile on the floor. She could feel Jack fiddling with the button on her jeans as he wobbly guided her through the doorway to his bedroom. Still kissing passionately, the couple fell backwards onto the king size bed.

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_aaah jex! jumps up and down in excitement_


	12. Chapter 12

_i hope you've recovered from the jex :D _

_new chappy :)_

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**Chapter Twelve**

Waking up, Kate felt panicked as she realized she was being restrained by two strong arms which were wrapped firmly around her stomach. Opening her eyes, Kate stared up at the white ceiling, not daring to look around until she remembered what was going on. Memories of the previous night slowly washed over her, making her feel at least a bit more relaxed.

Turning her head to the right, Kate came face to face with the peacefully sleeping doctor. She could see that he was smiling in his sleep, looking about the opposite from the state he had been in when he had gotten home, when she had feared that he would break down crying any second.

Tilting her head to the other side, Kate's eyes fell on the golden ring, lying on the nightstand. Feeling an unexpected wave of nausea take over her body, Kate rapidly shut her eyes tightly.

Realization suddenly hit Kate and it hit her hard. She had just slept with a married man, the father of an adorable little girl who was sleeping a couple of rooms down the hall.

Opening her eyes again, Kate stared at the wedding ring. He had taken it off. Why had he taken it off? Was it to ease his own conscience, from the fact that he had just committed adultery? To show at least a little respect to the vows he had exchanged with his wife.

What a considerate and honorable husband, Kate thought sarcastically.

Feeling herself being pulled closer to the warm body next to her, Kate once more felt the feeling of nausea go through her body.

She couldn't believe she had let this happen. Why had she offered to baby sit? Attachments were a privilege that she no long had. It maybe no sense at all that she had offered to spend the evening in this house. Even less sense that she had actually spent the night in his bed.

Kate swallowed as another wave of nausea hit her. She didn't dare to move, afraid that her body would fail her and that she could actually be sick.

A couple of minutes later, Kate carefully untangled herself from Jack's embrace before gathering her clothes off the floor. Knowing that her tank top and shirt were still in the living room, Kate sneaked out of the bedroom careful not to wake the man sleeping on the bed.

Kate paced quietly down the corridor, holding her breath as the wooden floor squeaked under her feet.

Pulling her top on, Kate grabbed the dress shirt not even bothering to put it on, instead she just tied it lazily around her waist.

Turning around to head to the front door, Kate's eyes immediately fell on the small child standing in the door way. Kate could hear somewhere from inside her head Jack's voice telling her that he didn't want Hannah walking right in there. Well here she was, Kate thought almost amused to the ridiculous coincidence that Hannah had walked in during the few seconds Kate had been in the room.

_"Is daddy not back yet?"_ The girl asked tiredly, her voice trembling slightly, hugging a stuffed grey dolphin closer to her chest.

_"No he's back. He's sleeping."_ Kate answered quietly as she walked over and kneeled down on the floor in front of Hannah. Noticing the tear stains on the girl's cheeks, Kate gently placed her arms around the child. _"Hey, it's alright"_

Kate felt Hannah's small arms wrap around her neck, as Kate stood back up, lifting the girl with her. Hannah quickly wrapped her legs around Kate's hips clinging desperately to her body, acting as if she was scared that Kate would let her fall back to the ground.

_"I had a bad dream"_ Hannah mumbled into Kate's shoulder, still holding the stuffed animal tight behind Kate's neck.

Making small circles with one of her hands on the child's back, Kate whispered soothing words in Hannah's ear. Kate knew all too well about bad dreams. What she wouldn't have given for someone to hold her and tell her everything would be alright when she was Hannah's age.

Kate carefully walked back down the hall and into the pink bedroom. Gently sitting down, Kate held Hannah on her lap, swaying her back and fourth soothingly. _"It's okay. What did you dream about?"_

_"The hospital"_ The girl mumbled quietly, leaning her body against Kate, letting the woman hold her. She looked tired, which wasn't strange since it was in the middle of the night. Now holding the stuffed animal in her lap her small fists holding it in a death grip, Hannah cuddled closer to Kate.

The hospital? Not the answer she had expected, especially not considering that the girl's father was a doctor and worked at the hospital. Or maybe that was it. That he worked there and spent what Hannah believed was too little time with her. That would make the hospital the big bad wolf, taking her father away from her.

Kate moved Hannah off her lap and put her down properly on the bed. Still sitting right next to her on the edge, Kate gently stroke Hannah's arm. _"You should try to go back to sleep"_ Kate whispered softly, knowing that she should leave as soon as possible.

The girl responded with a small nod and a yawn, making Kate let out a suppressed yawn as well.

Placing a soft kiss on the little girl's forehead, Kate was about to leave but was stopped by Hannah grabbing her arm.

_"Tell me a story?"_ Hannah suddenly looked a lot more alert. Now half sitting on the bed, with a pleading expression on her face.

Still sitting on the edge of the bed, Kate nodded solemnly._ "Okay, a story about what?"_

Hannah seemed to think about it, cuddling her stuffed dolphin closer. _"A princess"_ The girl divulged with a smile.

Figures, Kate thought glancing around in the room to once more see the small plastic princess dolls, the masquerade costumes and the posters of beautiful girl's wearing tiaras on the walls.

_"Alright, there was a beautiful princess who lived in a big castle with a handsome prince. The whole kingdom loved them and they lived happily ever after."_

Hannah didn't look very impressed and frowned at Kate. _"Not like that! There has to happen something bad before they can live happily ever after."_

_"Like what?"_ Kate sighed. She had never been good with stories, and the thought of Jack waking up down the hall didn't exactly help her creativity.

_"Maybe a lion eated the prince!"_ Hannah looked excited at her own idea, obviously proud that she had thought of something so creative.

_"How can they live happily ever after, if something ate the prince?"_ Kate emphasized the word 'ate' hoping that Hannah noticed that she had inflected the word incorrectly.

Hannah only responded with a blank smile, not caring if her idea made sense or not.

Kate glanced over at the pink watch on the nightstand. 3 am. Hopefully there was no risk of Jack waking up anytime soon. Kate turned slightly and rested lazily against the headboard.

_"Ok, once upon a time there was a princess who lived with… her uncle. The uncle was an evil wizard who kept the princess locked up in a tower, all day, all alone."_ Kate started, sounding very dramatic, definitely getting the little girl's attention.

_"Why did he do that?"_ Hannah asked curiously, desperately wanting Kate to continue. She had laid her head back down on the pillow and moved a little closer to Kate.

_"The wizard wanted to take over the princess's kingdom, not because he cared about the kingdom or the people living there, but because he wanted to control all the villagers"_

_"Did the prince save her?"_ Hannah asked, once more letting out a small yawn.

Kate looked like she had been about to say something else, but instead she gave the girl a timid nod. _"Yeah, the prince saved her..."_

The girl smiled and closed her eyes briefly. _"Did they live happily ever after?"_

Kate nodded, with a slightly gloomy expression on her face.

_"What happened to the evil wizard?"_ Hannah asked lifting her head slightly, looking at Kate.

_"They killed him"_ Kate answered quietly, her voice almost failing her.

Hannah narrowed her eyes._ "Why?"_

_"Because the wizard had hurt the princess"_ Kate answered simply, looking slightly unfocused as she gave Hannah a sad smile.

_"Oh"_ Hannah responded hesitatively, looking up at Kate with a heartbroken expression.

_"Now you should really try to get some sleep"_ Kate said giving Hannah a warm smile, the sad expression from her face completely vanished.

_"I'm not tired"_ Hannah argued, letting another yawn escape.

Kate couldn't help but just smile at the adorable girl as she gently got up from the bed. _"Good night Hannah"_

Finding herself back in the hallway, Kate just stared down the corridor at the door leading to where Jack was sleeping. She wasn't sure what she felt guiltier about, being in the house or the fact that she was going to sneak out of it.

Taking a long deep breath, Kate opened the front door and left the safety of the house behind her.

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_next chap (JackPov) will explain things about sarah ;) _


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen **

Jack woke up oblivious to the fact that the gorgeous brunette he had spent the night with had left his side a few hours earlier. Rolling over, Jack tiredly opened his eyes only to find the bed empty. The silky cover tossed lazily in a bundle on the empty space next to him, made Jack frown and let his head fall back heavily on his pillow.

He could believe she had just left. He didn't blame her though. What had he expected, really? It was probably for the best anyway.

Realizing that he could still smell the scent of her hair on his pillow, Jack sat up, not wanting to have the stupid bedclothes mocking him by the fact that she had left.

Jack swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up unsteadily. His eyes fell on the wedding band next to him. It felt like it was taunting him, lying there staring up judgmentally at him. He didn't regret last night, but he still knew he should not have let it go that far.

Grabbing the ring, Jack rose from the bed and pulled on his boxers. Pacing down the corridor, Jack stared at the small golden item in his hand. He just couldn't get himself to put it back on. He didn't deserve to wear it. Jack let his fingers close around the ring, his hand forming a fist.

After a quick walk through the house, Jack accepted the fact that the beautiful brunette was indeed gone. Standing in the living room looking at the couch, Jack was remembering every second he had spent with Kate fooling around on it like a teenager. It had been so uncharacteristic of him. He had a feeling it hadn't been for her too. Letting out a sighed, he turned to face the fireplace, leaning slightly against it.

He stared directly at a picture of himself and Sarah. Feeling the guilt built up in his body, Jack gently placed the wedding ring next to the photo on the fireplace mantel, before stepping away.

Taking a deep breath, Jack glanced at the clock before heading over to Hannah's room. Opening the door carefully, he noted that she was already awake sitting on her bed placing small stuffed animals in a row in front of her. Jack stayed in the doorway watching his daughter as she rearranged the order of the toys.

Stepping in fully to the room, Jack walked over and sat down next to Hannah on the bed. Jack placed a soft kiss on her hair as she put a stuffed tiger in his hands, silently asking him to join her in the game.

Jack smiled at her and shifted his position on the bed so that he was sitting next to his daughter, instead of on the edge. Hannah moved a few stuffed animals over in his direction but he was completely mesmerized by something. He couldn't understand what. He just sat frozen, feeling himself drift off mentally. Kate. He felt her presence in the room. Jack let his eyes wander around in his little girl's bedroom, but couldn't find any indication that she was or even had been there.

He suddenly realized what it was, he could smell her, or at least something in here smelled like her. Jack chuckled, making Hannah turn towards him and gave him a huge smile as she placed a teddy bear in his lap. Shaking his head slightly, Jack told himself that he was being ridiculous. When had he become a bloodhound, who was able to sniff tracks?

Jack inhaled deeply, taking in the wonderful scent of cinnamon and vanilla. It was really there, he was sure that he wasn't imaging it. He reasoned that it wasn't impossible though, since she had obviously been in Hannah's room last night, before he came home.

Jack played with Hannah for a bit longer before heading off to the bathroom for a shower. Feeling the water wash off some of the tension and stress from his body, the doctor couldn't help feeling better.

The last few days had been chaotic. The incident with Hannah in the park, had maybe started to settle a bit, but he could still feel it as a nagging force under his skin. Constantly reminding him, how close he had been to actually losing her.

Last night he had had the most terrible day at the hospital. A young boy had passed away on the operation table right in front of his eyes, without him being able to do anything about it, and then later last night, Kate.

Closing his eyes, he could still feel her lips on his face, her hands on his skin. Shrugging the feeling off, Jack opened his eyes, shaking his head.

Stepping out of the shower, Jack did feel more relaxed and composed. As he headed to the kitchen, Jack could hear muzzled voices coming from the room.

Walking in, he was as most mornings greeted 'good morning' by Maria. His daughter was sitting at the table drinking a cup of hot chocolate, explaining to the dark haired woman about the many different colors a stuffed elephant could have.

Jack sat down on the other side of the table, quietly sipping on the coffee Maria had placed in front of him.

Jack asked Maria to pack a breakfast picnic basket with whatever she could find for them to eat, whilst he had brought Hannah back to her room and helped her get dressed in a pair of pink pants with a white top. Grabbing the matching pink jacket to Hannah's pants, the two of them headed out to the car.

Glancing back at the child through the rear mirror, Jack could tell that she was excited. She had been talking a lot about the picnic the last couple of days.

The second the car stopped, Hannah had managed to unbuckle her seatbelt and was trying to get the car door open. When she didn't succeed in her attempt to leave the vehicle, she sat back pouting in her car seat.

Jack helped her out and grabbed the picnic basket, a blanket and a blue backpack before locking the car. Walking side by side, the old and young Shepard made their way down a small path.

Placing the blanket on the soft green grass Jack sat down, putting the backpack and basket next to him. Hannah had flown down in front of him, trying to open the backpack. Finally getting it open, she pulled out three middle-sized stuffed animals before she finally sat down properly on the blanket.

Jack had pretty much emptied the picnic basket on the blanket, which was now set as a full breakfast table.

They ate in silence, Hannah constantly watching him. Even if she was just four, she knew he didn't want to be there. Finishing the breakfast, Jack placed everything back in the basket before lying down on the blanket.

Closing his eyes he suddenly found himself lost in his own thoughts. Why had Kate left? Had she regretted last night so much that she couldn't even face him this morning? Where had she gone? How had she gotten back downtown?

Jack pictured the brunette back in her small studio apartment. The fact that she lived there gave him the creeps. He wasn't sure he would have let a dog sleep in that depressing molded hole.

He had guessed that she had had it pretty rough. From the look of where she lived, her clothes and how undernourished she was, Jack had a feeling she might be in more trouble than he would have first guessed.

Hearing Kate's name being mentioned, Jack glanced over at Hannah who was sitting cross legged a few yards away on the grass. She was rambling on and on about the brunette, bus rides and something about her stuffed animals.

Jack shifted uncomfortable. He wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that his daughter was having a conversation with a tombstone.

Deep down, he was thankful that Hannah still had some kind of connection to her mother, but he still felt completely heartbroken knowing that this was as far that connection would ever go.

If it hadn't been for her, Jack doubted he would have ever made himself face the death of his wife and only son this soon.

Hannah loved coming here, whilst the cemetery for him was his own personal hell. Just stepping out of the car in the parking lot, Jack started having trouble breathing. It had gotten slightly easier over the weeks, but he still dreaded coming out here.

Jack sat back up, looking at the grey stone standing almost in front of him. Once more glancing over at Hannah who was now sitting in silence, gently resting her small hand against the rough surface of the stone, Jack felt thankful that he had her. She had been supposed to be in the car with Sarah and William, but she hadn't been feeling well and had been forced to stay with her grandmother.

Sarah hadn't mentioned that she had dropped off their daughter at her mother's house before heading off. When jack had received the information that his wife had been in an accident, he had thought that he had lost all three of them.

Sarah had survived the actual crashed and died the next day at the hospital. His hospital. Jack closed his eyes and remembered that day just, 3 months ago. Everything had happened so fast. First he had learned that his son was gone. Then that it was very unlike that his wife would survive.

Hannah had been crying constantly somehow understand what was going on, even thought no one had told her. Desperately clinging to her mother, who had been drifting in and out of consciousness, oblivious to most of the things happening around her.

She had made Jack promise to not sell the house like they had planned. She had told him that she wanted no matter what to be able to find Hannah. To always know where she was. Telling him that she loved him had been the last words leaving her lips before she had closed her eyes for the last time.


	14. Chapter 14

_thanks for all the reviews guys :)-makes happy dance-_

_and thank you sonie and everybody else who keep let me bother them with stuff concerning my fics :)_

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**Chapter Fourteen**

Jack's cell phone rang just as he opened the car door for Hannah. Flipping the phone open, Jack placed it between his ear and shoulder, helping Hannah up in her car seat.

_"Hello"_ Jack answered unfocused as he struggled to get hold of the seatbelt which Hannah was trying to put on herself.

He was greeted back by a dark male voice. Jack immediately identified it as Dr. Steven Samuelson, down from the ER at his hospital. They had worked together a few years back, got along very well, but not really socialized outside of the hospital.

_"Shepard, I think we have one of your patients down here. Do you think you could come in?"_

_"I'll be there in 30 minutes"_ Jack said, turning off the phone. Jack sighed loudly as he sat down in the driver seat. Great another day he was supposed to have off that he'll spend at the operating table.

Turning in his seat, Jack gave Hannah an apologizing look._ "Sorry princess I have to go to work."_

Hannah gave him a small sad but understanding nod as she hugged one of her stuffed animals.

Half way to the hospital, Hannah tried to get her father's attention._ "Daddy?"_ She sounded a bit tired, but her voice still alert with curiosity.

_"What is it Sweetie?"_ Jack answered unfocused, watching the road.

_"Is Kate going to play with me when you work?" _Hannah asked excitedly from the backseat.

_"No Princess. Amy's going to watch you."_ Jack said, sounding sympathetic. He knew Hannah seemed to like Kate a lot. I wished he could tell her that she'll see Kate soon again. But being unsure he'd ever see her himself, he didn't mention it to his daughter.

He could feel Hannah watching him in the rearview mirror but he kept his eyes on the traffic in front of him.

_"When did Kate leave?"_

Jack immediately looked up in the rear-mirror to meet his daughter's eyes. Why would she ask that? There is no way she could suspect that Kate had spent the night at their house, Jack told himself.

_"Uh she left when I got home. Why do you ask?"_ Feeling his cheeks becoming slightly warmer, Jack looked back at the road, thankful that he knew Hannah wouldn't notice.

_"I just wondered why she wasn't home when I woke up."_ Hannah said, looking out her window.

He couldn't help smiling at what she had said though. It sounded so cute for some reason. She had managed to make it sound like their house was Kate's home as well.

Jack called Amy and asked her to pick Hannah up from the hospital. Parking the car, Jack hurriedly grabbed Hannah and one of the stuffed animals they had had with them on the picnic and headed for the entrance.

_"Hey Darla. Could you keep an eye on Hannah for me?"_ Jack asked his secretary as he walked into his office, carrying his little girl. "I have to run down to the ER. Amy will pick her up in an hour."

_"Of course Dr Shepard"_ The red-haired secretary answered distractedly, looking through a pile of papers.

With that Jack placed Hannah in one of the armchair and gave her a quick kiss on the chin before hurrying back down the hall.

Jack didn't get far in the corridor at the ER until he literally ran in to Dr Samuelson. The short chubby doctor looked startled by crashing into his colleague but soon recovered and guided Jack over to the reception area.

_"So what's going on?"_ Jack asked, maybe a little harsher than necessary.

_"Well we have a woman here that we haven't been able to identify yet. But she had this"_ Steven hands over one of Jack's business cards. _"So we're guessing that she's your patient."_

_"You just want me to identify someone?"_ Jack asked warily, knowing that it probably meant that one of his former patients was lying in a room close by, dead.

Steven gave him a small nod before heading off down the hall, Jack following him closely. The chubby older doctor opened a door for Jack and the younger dark haired man stepped into the room.

His eyes immediately went to the hospital bed in the middle of the room and the young brunette lying in it. She looked like she was asleep, a white bandage wrapped firmly around her head.

_"Kate…" _Jack hurried over to her side and gently placed a hand on her forehead. It was lukewarm and not ice cold as Jack had fear. By that he knew he wasn't there to identify a corpse.

_"What happened to her?" _Jack asked impatiently, turning back to his colleague.

_"We don't really know yet. She was found in an alley a few hours ago. We're guessing that she was attacked, possibly molested and raped considering the fact that her clothes were torn."_ The older doctor explained, his eyes curiously locked on Jack's hand, which was still resting gently on the woman's forehead. _"So her name is Kate? What's her surname?"_

Jack turned back to the sleeping woman, with a crushed expression on his face. _"I don't know, we met a couple of days ago."_ Letting his hand gently slide down from her forehead to her cheek, he sighed quietly. _"How is she doing?"_

_"She has taken a pretty bad hit to the head. She's been unconscious since she got here. We did some X-rays, nothing's broken thought. I also ordered a rape kit, but we're still waiting for the results from that."_

Jack winced at the words, getting a terrible visual picture in his head of what could have happened to her. A second thought suddenly hit him.

Jack cursed loudly, running one of his hands through his short hair. Turning back to the other doctor, he was met by a confused and surprised look.

_"I slept with her last night. You'll most likely find traces of my DNA."_ Jack admitted in a whisper, clinching his teeth together.

Dr Samuelson looked speechless, letting his eyes fall back to the young brunette with a blank expression on his face. _"Uh… Well I'll get right back to you when I get the results. If she doesn't wake up, you could be in trouble Jack."_ The man trailed off warningly, still looking at the unidentified woman.

Jack stared into space. He hadn't even heard the doctor when he had told him that he could be in trouble. He had stopped listening after the part about Kate not waking up. He felt like he was choking. Doesn't wake up? She would wake up, right? Glancing back down at Kate, Jack felt tears forming in his eyes.

He had been sitting in the chair next to Kate's bed for almost two hours. Jack knew he should go home, but he just couldn't make himself leave.

When she woke up, would she be mad that he was there? She had after all just left last night, Jack reminded himself. He felt his head getting heavier as he watched her, resting his head on one of his hands, Jack fell asleep.

He woke up when the door opened and a young nurse walked in to the light green room. Glancing down at his watch, Jack noticed he had been sleeping for almost 3 hours.

_"Hi" _the young woman greeted Jack as she went over to Kate's side._ "There is a cafeteria just down the hall"_ The nurse informed Jack politely as she wrote down something in her chart.

Jack gave her a small nod, not bothering to tell her that he already knew that, since he worked at the hospital just as her. _"How is she?"_ Jack asked quietly, feeling embarrassed that he had been sleeping and not watching her which had been his intention.

_"The same"_ Jack thought he could hear a tone of pity in the woman's voice.

Standing up, Jack felt a sharp pain in his neck. 'Great' he muttered as he rubbed his neck.

_"Is she you're wife?"_ The nurse asked noisily, looking between him and Kate.

Taking a step closer to the bed, Jack gently took Kate's lifeless hand in his, not really caring that the young woman was watching his every move. _"No"_ Jack answered firmly without looking up at her.

Giving Jack a small smile, the nurse left the room sensing the man didn't want her in there.

Jack brought Kate's small hand up to his lips and gave her fingers a soft kiss before stepping away from the bed. He walked slowly to the door and turned around to look at her before opening it. He knew he would be back first thing in the morning to check on her.

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hope you likedit... :) 


	15. Chapter 15

_thank you for all the reviews :)_

_..and relax, im not going to kill kate -roll eyes-_

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**Chapter Fifteen**

Unable to fall asleep, Jack left his bedroom at 4 o'clock in the morning. He had been tossing and turning on the bed for hours, feeling worse by the minute. He couldn't wrap his mind around what had happened to Kate. He felt guilty. The fact that it was his house she had left right before getting attacked made it his fault. He could have prevented it. If he had only made her stay or simply had driven her home before he had literally jumped her in the living room.

Pouring a drink for himself, Jack sat down heavily on the couch. He tried not to think about the young brunette who lay unconscious at the hospital, but the thoughts were tumbling uncontrollable through his head.

Leaning back, Jack placed a hand over his eyes in frustration. He was considering just throwing his sleeping daughter in the car and going back to the hospital to be there when Kate wakes up. He knew it was crazy but he felt like he should be there. No, he _wanted_ to be there. To be sure that he would be by her side when she woke up.

Jack didn't notice that he had been drifting off to sleep until he felt a small hand on his chest. Hannah was crawling up to his lap, steadying herself against his body.

Opening his eyes, Jack came face to face with the smiling four year old. _"Morning Princess"_ Jack said huskily, has he helped her seat herself more firmly on his lap.

Hannah rested her head against his chest, holding a small stuffed penguin in her hand. _"You didn't come home."_ Hannah whispered with a tone of sadness in her voice.

Jack could feel his heartbreaking. He just couldn't stand being the reason for his daughter's unhappiness. _"I'm so sorry Sweetie but I had to stay at the hospital with Kate."_ It was technically a white lie. He hadn't planned to stay as long as he had, but falling asleep had changed the original plan he had had.

Hannah's head snapped up, her chocolate brown eyes looking directly into his._ "Kate is at the hospital?"_

Jack closed his eyes for a brief second. Why had he said that? There was no reason to worry Hannah about Kate's condition.

_"Yes"_ Jack answered wearily, not able to lie to his daughter after just telling her that Kate indeed was at the hospital.

Hannah's lip started trembling has she hugged her soft penguin closer._ "Is she okay?"_

Should he tell her that she was? What if she wasn't? What if she never woke up or what if she didn't even make it. He couldn't tell Hannah that he didn't know or that Kate's condition was in any way unstable. Unsure if she would be able to handle the truth, Jack gave the girl a small nod.

Hannah let her eyes fall to her lap, looking like she was in deep thought, hugging her soft stuffed black and white toy closer.

Jack glanced at the clock. Almost 9 o'clock. He was surprised that he had gotten a few hours of sleep after all.

After a quick breakfast, Jack and Hannah had left the house. He didn't even bother to argue with her to stay at home with Amy, knowing it would end with him bringing her anyway.

Jack once again left Hannah with his secretary, not daring to bring her down to the ER incase Kate wasn't in as good condition as he was hoping.

Before leaving his office he had called the ER ahead. Founding out that they had moved Kate from the Emergency Room, Jack let out a breath of relief. She was apparently no longer in any life threatening danger.

Jack paced through the yellow corridors of the hospital. God he hated hospitals. Wasn't that ironic? He hated the long never ending corridors, the confined small rooms, the colors, the smell, the uneasy feelings of worry and distress the patients and their families sent out. Sadly, he couldn't think of a single thing he actually liked about his workplace.

Finally reaching Kate's room, he took a second to gather some courage. Jack opened the door but stopped in the doorway as his eyes settled on the beautiful brunette sitting up in her bed. A black haired man in a doctor's coat, wearing glasses were standing next to her.

Jack could tell that they were in the middle of a conversation as the tall man turned around to face him. _"Are you Jack Shepard?"_

Jack had his eyes set on Kate with a small smile on his face. She returned the smile politely, looking back at him with curious and questioning eyes. It looked like she was trying to figure out what he was doing there.

_"Sir?"_ The thin haired doctor said loudly, making Jack turn his head to face him.

_"Yes, I'm Jack Shepard."_ He confirmed, once more letting his eyes travel back to meet Kate's. She looked lost despite the small smile on her lips which Jack could tell definitely didn't reach her green eyes.

_"May I speak to you outside?"_ The black haired doctor asked patently, making Jack turn back to him with a glare before giving him a small nod.

Jack glanced back at the young woman, giving her another warm smile before he turned around and left the room together with the other doctor.

Closing the door behind them, the two men stood right outside the small room. Looking the dark haired doctor over, Jack guessed that he was a few years younger than him. Jack waited patently for the other man to start talking.

_"I'm Doctor Greene."_ The dark haired doctor started. _"Dr Samuelson told me that it was likely that you'd show up today. He-"_

_"How is she doing?"_ Jack interrupted, not really caring about Dr Greene or Dr Samuelson.

_"Well, she's awake, which is more than we dared to hope for yesterday. Unfortunately she doesn't remember…"_ The younger man trailed off.

Jack frowned. _"The attack? That's-"_ he started, but was soon cut off by Dr Greene.

_"Anything"_

A concerned look appeared on Jack's face. _"Anything? She doesn't remember anything?"_

The younger doctor shook his head in sympathy just as his beeper went off. _"I have to go. I'll check up on Miss Kate in a few hours so if you're still here, we can sit down and talk in my office if you want to."_

Jack gave Dr Greene a small nod before the younger man disappeared down the hall. Taking a deep breath, Jack reentered the room. _"Hi"_ He greeted softy as he walked over to the chair next to her bed and sat down.

He could tell that she was studying him._ "Hey. Did Paul tell you?"_

_"Who?"_ Jack automatically replied when he couldn't place the name in his head.

_"Dr Greene"_ Kate clarified wearily.

Jack nodded slowly, trying to read the blank expression on Kate's face. There was something different about her, he just could say what. For some reason he thought it were the eyes. He gazed directly into her deep hazel green eyes and unconsciously tilted his head.

Kate frowned with a distrustful look on her face, obviously uncomfortable that he was staring at her.

Jack let his eyes fall to the bed when he noticed her discomfort and cleared his throat, before glancing back up at her, now looking slightly nervous.

_"I'm guessing we know each other…"_ The brunette stated apprehensively.

Jack responded with an almost invisible nod.

Kate suddenly looked ashamed as she let her head fall, her eyes no longer meeting his. _"I'm sorry that I don't remember you."_

_"That's okay. Don't worry about it."_ Jack reassured with a small smile which she immediately mirrored. She nibbled slightly on her lower lip as she studied him, now looking more pleased with his presence.

They had been talking for a while, mostly about completely insignificant things. Kate had told him how frustrating it was to remember how to perform everyday things, but not remembering simple facts about yours own life.

Hearing the door squeak open, Jack turned around and saw Dr Samuelson leaning against the door with a yellow journal in his hand.

Kate's head snapped up at the sight of the chubby doctor. _"Are those the results?"_ She asked tensed, staring at the folder in his hand.

Steven nodded slightly for Jack, indicating that he wanted to speak to him in private. Jack turned back to Kate, giving her a reassuring smile as he rose from his chair and followed Dr Samuelson outside.

The thin haired doctor handed Jack the file just as the door closed behind them. Jack's eyes immediately scanned the papers. It didn't take more than a second for him to find what he had been look for. Apparently the hospital had as well. They had indeed collected the evidence they had needed.

Jack cursed under his breath. This was ridiculous. His head started spinning. Could he actually be charged with sexual assault? The evidence was right here, they had even already matched the DNA samples to his file. The fact that Kate had amnesia was suddenly a major problem. What if she never regained her memories? Jack thought panicked as he ran a hand through is dark hair.

_"Jack…"_ Dr Samuelson started, making Jack turn his attention back to his former colleague. _"I haven't handed this over to the police yet. I can stall this for a day or two, telling them that I haven't gotten the results yet. Hopefully her memories will come back in a couple of days and you'd be off the hook."_

Jack nodded solemnly. _"That was it though, right?"_ Jack let his eyes fall back into the file. _"She wasn't actually raped?"_ Jack continued to dart his eyes over the text, taking in the information put down in the folder.

_"Well if we overlook the fact that we did found samples of your semen, then no, nothing indicates that she was raped."_

Jack let out a relieved breath. Finally some good news, he thought as he closed the folder and handed it back to the thinned haired man.

Dr Samuelson gave Jack a small nod as he took the journal back. _"I'm not completely sure what to tell about the results. Do you want to tell her?"_

_"Sure"_ Jack answered and was given a small nod from the older doctor, who turned around to leave.

_"What if she doesn't?"_ Jack said apprehensively, making Dr Samuelson turn around and look at him again.

Jack could tell that the other man was confused, obviously having no idea what he had meant. _"What if she doesn't, what?"_

_"What if she doesn't get her memory back in the next couple of days?" _He couldn't help sounding nervous. He had a nightmare scenario playing in his head. Kate never getting her memory back which would lead to him being thrown in jail and Hannah suddenly losing a second parent in a matter of months.

_"Then we'll figure something out"_ the chubby man said calmly, giving Jack a reassuring smile before he disappeared down the yellow corridor, heading down to the ER where he belonged.

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	16. Chapter 16

_Good morning guys. I'm unbelievably tired but I have like 5 minutes before I've gotta leave, so I thought I'd update the story since I haven't in a longish time now. I have so much going on right now but I'm trying desperately to put aside some time for my fics._

_Thank you for the reviews, I'm really glad to hear that you still like the story :)_

**Chapter Sixteen **

When Jack reentered the room, Kate was still sitting cross legged on the bed, but she now had her face buried in her hands as she cried softly.

_"Hey…"_ Jack quickly moved over to the bed and sat down on the edge, gently placing one of his hands on her knee. _"What's wrong?"_

He could tell that she was trying her best to stop crying. Glancing up at him she wiped her eyes clear from salty tears, before trying to speak. _"What did he say? Couldn't have been particularly good news since he asked you to follow him outside."_

Even if he still could see traces of tears in her eyes, her look was firm and daring, telling him that he would be sorry if he lied to her, but her eyes were at the same time empty, a devastated look lingering on her face.

Jack gave her a reassuring smile, knowing that she had misread the situation._ "You were not raped"_

Her eyes lit up by his words, a small smile appeared on her lips as a single tear made its way down her cheek. _"Really?"_

_"Really"_ Jack said softly, leaning closer, wiping away the tear with his thumb.

There was a loud knock on door, which made a startled Jack pull his hand away from Kate's face just as a red-haired woman peeked into the room._ "I'm so sorry, I tried to keep her up stairs but she's been crying for-"_ She was cut off by Hannah who pushed the door completely open and sprinted into the room.

_"Hannah you were supposed to stay with Darla."_ Jack said with a tone of disappointment. Turning to the red-head, Jack nodded. He tried his best not to look frustrated by the fact that his secretary had brought the young girl down stairs even though he had told her to keep her in his office. She was after all not hired to be his nanny-substitute. _"It's okay. Thanks anyway."_

With a small embarrassed smile the secretary left, closing the door firmly behind her.

Hannah was standing frozen, staring at Kate with wide eyes. Kate looked nervously between the man sitting on her bed and the young girl standing a few feet away.

Out of the blue, the child launched herself at Kate, jumping up on the bed, throwing her arms around the very shocked woman.

_"Hannah!"_ Jack exclaimed, trying to pry his daughter off the brunette.

Hannah had started crying uncontrollably, holding Kate close, refusing to let Jack pull her away. As an instinct, Kate had wrapped her arms loosely around the child who was clinging to her body, but she had a stunned expression on her face, completely oblivious to what going on.

Jack had managed to get hold of Hannah's shoulders and pulled her down to his lap and folded his arms around her in an attempt to calm her down.

Hannah took a fist full of Jack's shirt, burying her face in his chest. _"I don't want her to die!"_

_"Ssshh she's not going to die."_ Jack said calmly, stroking her back.

Crying in to Jack's shirt, Hannah started to fight Jack's embracing arms, hitting him faintly with her small fists. _"No… Daddy, I… Please… I want mommy… No…"_ Neither one of the adults were able to make out fully what the child was mumbling between her sobs and both of them looked taken back by the young girls outburst.

Kate was staring directly at Hannah, eyes wide, mouth half open, not capable to utter a single word.

_"Hannah, Sweetie, its okay. Sshh, just calm down."_ Jack said softly in an attempt to sooth the child.

_"Is she my…"_ Kate trailed off, unable to finish the sentence as she nervously glanced up at Jack before her eyes darted back to the little girl.

_"No"_ Jack immediately filled in. _"She's not yours."_

Kate nodded slowly, her eyes still set on the little girl. Jack couldn't tell if she was relived or not. She looked more confused than anything.

_"Hannah I want you to wait outside for a minute, okay?"_

_"No, please daddy I want to stay!"_ The girl pleaded looking up with a devastated look on her face.

Jack looked over Hannah's head at Kate who gave him a small nod. _"Alright but you have to calm down."_ He said back to his daughter after Kate had confirmed that it was okay that she stayed.

Hannah smiled and turn to Kate, crawling out of her fathers lap and over to Kate's. Jack made a fast movement to pull her back but Kate placed a hand on his arm to stop him.

_"It's okay"_ Kate said softly, letting the little girl draw her closer, wrapping her arms around her.

Hannah rested her head against Kate, making a soft sobbing sound. _"Promise you'll be ok. I don't want you to be sick."_

_"I'll be fine, I promise. I don't look too sick, do I?"_ Kate said with smile, pulling away from Hannah so that the young girl was able to see her properly.

Hannah made a face, narrowing her eyes slightly as she looked directly at the bandage wrapped around the woman's head.

Kate looked a bit taken back but chuckled._ "I look that bad, huh?"_

Turning around to face Jack, Hannah gave her father a thoughtful look. Kate followed her gaze and looked at Jack as well.

_"You look beautiful."_ He clarified with a smile. _"Hannah's 4, what does she know?"_

_"Daddy! I know lots of things"_ Hannah said with a pout.

Kate blushed, giving Jack a curious look. He responded with a shy smile, ignore the fact that this daughter was tugging on his shirt sleeve.

Hannah was looking back and forth between the adult, not looking too thrilled that they were lost in their own little world. Giving up on getting her father's attention, she turned back to the woman. Tugging slightly on Kate's hospital gown, Hannah had a stern look on her face, once more looking directly at the white bandage around Kate's head.

_"What's wrong with you?"_ Hannah asked with a pout.

Kate looked taken back by the question, an apologizing expression started to appear on her face. _"I don't really know…"_

Jack cut in to help her out. _"Kate has hurt her head and now she has amnesia." _Jack explained, already knowing that Hannah wouldn't understand the meaning of it, which had been his intension, hoping she would drop the question.

Hannah's head snapped back to look at Kate with a terrified expression on her face. _"What's an… am… 'that'!"_

Kate gave her a sympathetic look before letting her eyes fall to the bed. _"It means that I don't remem-"_

Jack interrupted her before she had a chance to finish. _"Princess, it means that Kate has to rest for a few days until she feels better and then she'll get to go back home."_

Kate shot him a confused look while Hannah looked unconvinced.

_"Sweetie can you go get some candy in the machine outside?"_ Jack asked distractedly, handing over two one dollar bills to the four year old.

Hannah's eyes lit up as she grabbed the money and jumped off the bed, leaving the two adults alone, just as Jack had intended.

_"What was that?"_ Kate asked the second the door closed behind the little girl, sounding rather annoyed.

_"Sorry about that."_ Jack begun quietly, regretting that he had interrupted Kate when she was about to explain to Hannah and instead lied to his daughter. _"I just have a feeling Hannah wouldn't take the news that you don't remember her very well. I know I shouldn't have lied to her about you."_

Kate started nibbling on her bottom lip, her eyes inspecting her hands which lay neatly folded in her lap. _"No, of course you can tell her whatever you want. I'm sorry"_

Jack gave her a weak smile when she shyly looked back up. He was a bit surprised that she had gone from upset to ashamed in only a couple of seconds.

Her eyes didn't meet his. He noticed how they darted around in the room whilst she chewed on her lip. Apparently the awkward silence that had fallen upon the room made her nervous.

Jack watched her, fascinated by her behavior, it reminded him of the first time he had seen her. He smiled wider by the fact that he could see the Kate he had known for a few days in the lost and confused girl who didn't even know her own name.

Kate glanced back at him just as Hannah reentered the room munching happily on a candy bar, carrying a second one in a left hand, a satisfied look across her face.

Turning around by the sound of the door opening, Jack cleared his throat to get both the girls' attention. _"We should leave and let you get some rest"_

_"Not yet"_ Hannah immediately exclaimed.

Turning to Kate, Jack noticed that she didn't look too thrilled either by the idea of being left alone. _"I guess we could stay a little longer"_

Helping Hannah back up on the bed, Jack placed her on his lap but the four year old smoothly crawled off him and sat down between the adults with her back towards Jack, once more watching Kate closely.

_"Are you hungry?"_ Hannah unexpectedly asked only to receive a very confused look from the brunette.

_"Uh no, not really."_ Kate answered perplexed.

Hannah took a new bite on her candy bar. _"You missed breakfast…"_ her voice was soft, but it held a trace of disappointment as well as curiosity.

Jack felt Kate's eyes flick to him over the child's head. He had expected a suspicious and questioning look but her expression was blank, her eyes begging him to help her out since she had obviously no idea what Hannah was talking about. Jack opened his mouth but closed it again, unsure what to say.

_"It was great. We had a picnic-breakfast."_ Hannah continued, apparently not aware of the looks exchanged over her head. _"Why didn't you stay and have breakfast?"_

_"Sweetie, I really think we should let Kate rest now, so that she'll get better."_ Jack said softly placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder, making her turn around.

She gave him a disappointing look but nodded understandingly.

Jack watched as the child wrapped her arms tightly around the woman. Kate smiled, hugging the little girl back as she glanced at Jack over Hannah's shoulder with a mysterious look in her eyes.

_"I hope your head gets better"_ Hannah said softly still holding a firm grip around Kate.

Jack smiled to himself, watching the beautiful brunette embracing his daughter. When they pulled apart, Jack lifted the little girl down from the bed.

He then turned back to Kate and unconsciously leaned forward but instantly stopped, remembering that it was maybe strange if he hugged her as well. Kate had noticed his movement but didn't move to meet his embrace. Instead she gave him an apprehensive look, which turned the situation incredibly awkward.

Clearing his throat, Jack rose from the bed, giving Kate a shy smile. _"I'll be back tomorrow, to check on you"_ He said with a bashful look on his face. _"If anything happens or you want something just call, your doctor has my number."_

Kate gave him an appreciative smile and a small nod.

_"Take care now and get some rest."_ Jack said as he took a step towards the bed, gently placing one of his hands on her shoulder, making her look up and meet his eyes. He smoothly leaned down closer and placed a soft kiss on her temple right below the white bandage. Pulling away slightly, Jack lingered a couple of inches away from her face, his eyes locked with hers.

She watched him with an intense look, her eyes switching between confusion, gratitude as well as affection. He could tell that she was wondering if he would kiss her. He was wondering himself, but he knew that it would be incredibly stupid. First of all she had no idea who she was and even more oblivious to whom he was. He didn't actually know if they were on kissing basis, considering that she had left without a word the other night. Plus his daughter was watching him with shocked wide eyes as it was.

Jack gave her a warm smile, feeling his cheeks turning slightly warmer._ "I'll see you tomorrow."_ He whispered, letting the back of his hand gently slide over her cheek.

Kate nodded slightly, returning the smile. He could feel her eyes on him as he turned around and grabbed Hannah's hand, leading his dazed daughter out of the room.

_A/N: please r&r_


	17. Chapter 17

_thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews :) _

_ive been really busy lately which is way i havent updated. sorry about that ;/_

_at least here is another chappy. enjoy_

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**Chapter Seventeen**

Jack could feel Hannah's eyes on him in the mirror as he drove the long way back to the house. A loud frustrated sigh was heard from the backseat, making Jack glance up and meet her suspicious eyes.

_"Do you love her?"_ Hannah unexpectedly asked.

Jack quickly broke eye contact and looked back at the road. _"What?"_ He asked back, sounding more confused than he really was. He knew very well what the four year old meant.

_"Kate... Do you love her?"_ Hannah explained patently, oblivious to her father's fake ignorance.

Jack swallowed, trying to think of something wise to reply. He didn't love her… he couldn't, right? He had only known her a couple of days and either way he wasn't about to confess anything to his four year old daughter. He did like her though, a lot. It was as if they had a special connection, like they had known each other for years, decades even.

_"I don't know…"_ Jack finally replied dumbly, looking up into the rear mirror. Hannah nodded before turning to her side window, deep in thought.

_"I don't want a new mommy."_ Hannah suddenly whispered from the backseat with tear-filled eyes as she hugged a grey stuffed armadillo closer to her small body.

Jack looked up in the mirror but the little girl wouldn't meet his eyes. She had her eyes lowered to her lap, her lips pressed tight together.

_"Sweetie you'll never have a new mommy, okay?"_ He begun slowly, careful not to say something to upset her. Sarah was a sensitive subject for both of them. He knew she missed her mother and the thought of someone taking her place was probably something Hannah was worried about. _"If I... you know… If I… I'd meet someone…"_ Jack continued, stuttering slightly on the words.

_"Like Kate?"_ Hannah more filled in than questioned as she looked up at her father with an inquiring look.

_"Yes… like Kate."_ Jack confirmed, avoiding the penetrating hazel green eyes that were inspecting him closely._ "She wouldn't replace your mother. No one will ever do that Hannah."_ Jack explained further, feeling slightly guilt, since he knew that if he did get married again, that person would technically replace Sarah in his daughter's life.

Jack reluctantly glanced up and gave her a small reassuring smile. Hannah nodded slowly, taking in the information as she squeezed her stuffed animal.

Parking the car in the garage, Jack sat silently in the car for a moment, just staring into the wall in front of him. He could have sat there for hours, trying to wrap his mind around the things that had happened in the last days, but the sweet voice of his daughter brought him back to reality.

_"Daddy?"_

Jack took a deep breath before stepping out of the car and then helping Hannah out as well. Lifting the girl out of her car seat, Jack balanced her on his hip. He knew she was getting too old to getting carried around, but he loved carrying her. It gave her that cute and innocent appearance and it felt like he was protecting her from all the evil things the world had in mind for them. Handling the child her stuffed armadillo, Jack closed and locked the car.

Hannah had wrapped her arms around his neck and looked fairly sleepy from the ride. _"I like Kate"_ She suddenly mumbled into his ear, making Jack smile.

_"I know you do."_ Jack answered, placing a soft kiss on her forehead before carrying her inside.

The day had passed by slowly. Jack had called the hospital twice to check up on Kate, making sure she was alright. Other than that he had mostly spent the afternoon with Hannah. They had played a few games, watched a movie and eaten pizza. Right now Jack was half lying on the couch, watching the news, while Hannah was coloring in her room.

Just as he turned off the TV Hannah entered the room, carrying three hand drawn pictures. Jack smiled at her as he helped her up on the couch.

With a big grin on her face, Hannah methodically showed Jack the pictures. _"This one is for Kate."_ The girl explained as she handed the man the first picture. Hannah pointed to the colorful lines which apparently appeared to be a hospital bed. _"This is the bed and this is the chair and this is the TV…"_ Hannah continued as she pointed out objects she had recreated from the hospital room, until Jack politely asked about the next picture.

Looking even more excited, Hannah handed over the second picture while explaining that it was of him and Kate. Jack shyly smiled when he looked at the two childish drawn people holding hands.

_"What about the last one?"_ Jack asked nodding slightly towards the last picture his daughter was holding.

_"This is one is for me"_ She explained in a proud voice as she held up the picture of a princess in a pink dress, with brown hair and a golden tiara.

_"Aha of course"_ Jack said knowingly giving the child a sweet smile.

Hannah was fingering on the first picture she had planned to give to Kate._ "Daddy? Can we go back to the hospital today? I wanna give Kate her picture."_ The girl said slowly, looking at the floor.

Jack gave her an apologizing smile. He was quite sure she already knew the answer. The shy, not meeting his eyes approach had given her away, but he pretended like he hadn't noticed. _"No, I'm sorry Sweetie. It's getting late and you're supposed to go to bed."_

Hannah glanced up at him with a sly smiling._ "How about tomorrow?"_

_"I don't know. You're going to school tomorrow and then you're spending the day with Amy."_

_"Oh…" _She sounded disappointed, apparently she hadn't expected that. Her eyes fell back to the carpet lying under the couch as she started to chew on her lip.

_"Don't worry Princess, you'll see Kate again soon enough."_ Jack tried softly as he stood up and lifted the four year old up in his arms, carrying her to her room.

After tucking his daughter in, Jack went to bed himself even though it was only 8 o'clock. He felt completely exhausted, like he had worked a nightshift, spent the whole day at home and then been called in to work another night. Jack knew very well how that felt, and it was a lot like how he was feeling right now.

Jack had drifted off to sleep and was too soon for his liking woken by the alarm clock. Forcing himself into a sitting position, Jack turned off the clock with a sigh, before reluctantly standing up. After a quick shower, he entered the kitchen and as usually a cup of coffee was placed in his hand.

Jack didn't like having people working for him in his home. It didn't feel like a real loving home when outside people constantly were around. He knew he couldn't do this without either Amy, Maria or the guy that took care of the enormous garden, but that didn't stop the disturbing feeling he had about it.

Sarah would have hated the fact that Hannah had a nanny. She had quit her teaching job the second she found out she was pregnant and never went back to work after that. Being part of their children's life had been the most important thing for her.

Jack liked Amy though, she got along great with Hannah, especially since Hannah had just gone trough a traumatic life changing event right before Jack had hired the young nanny.

He was really thankful that they had Amy. He knew he and Hannah wouldn't manage very well by themselves, without Amy he wouldn't even be able to go to work. Jack couldn't really see a reason to change their daily routines, with him going to work and Amy taking Hannah for the day.

Kissing Hannah goodbye Jack left the house in a hurry, just like every morning. No matter how early he woke up, he somehow always managed to be late.

The day hadn't gone at all how Jack had planned. It was already 2 o'clock and he still hadn't gotten a chance to check on Kate yet. A few more hours passed by, another operation, more paper work and it was suddenly 6 pm. Jack let out a frustrated sighed when he glance at the watch in his office. He had promised Amy as well as Hannah to be back by now.

Jack took a deep breath and rose from the desk. He knew he should finish before leaving but he really didn't want to let Hannah down, having her go to bed before he got back home.

Leaving the office in a hurry, Jack paced down the hall to the elevator, determined to stop by Kate's room before leaving.

Jack knocked lightly on the door before opening it. She was sitting up, reading some kind of gossip magazine. It looked unreal, like something the old Kate would never have done.

_"Hey"_ Jack greeted softly walking slightly closer to the bed, but not sitting down, afraid of giving in to staying longer than he should.

_"Hi…"_ Kate replied with a suspicious voice. _"You're a doctor?"_

Glancing down, Jack realized he still had the white doctor's coat on._ "Uhm, yeah."_

The brunette had an unsure look on her face, her eyes flashing of betrayal.

_"I'm not your doctor, but I work at this hospital."_ Jack explained warily not sure why it bothered her that he was a doctor.

_"Oh, okay"_ Kate said, sounding a bit less strained.

Jack gave her a small smile as he did what he had promised himself not to, he sat down on the chair. Just being this close to her again, made him lose track of everything else. His brain just stopped functioning properly at the same time that everything other than Kate stopped mattering. _"How are you doing?"_

_"Paul said I was much better, if I had been able to remember who I am, he said I might have been able to leave."_ The words left her mouth in a sigh. It was obviously that she was depressed by the fact that she was stuck there as well as not being able to remember her own life.

_"I'm sorry"_ Jack said lamely giving her a sympathetic look.

_"And how is it even possible that they haven't been able to identify me when you know me" _Kate continued sounding even more frustrated.

Before Jack had a chance to answer, a young nurse entered the room. A shocked expression spread on the young woman's face when she noticed Jack.

Not bothering to explain who he was, Jack glanced up at the nurse with determined eyes. _"Is Dr Greene still here?"_

The blonde woman looked slightly unsure, but gave him a small nod as response.

_"Could you go get him, please?"_ He asked in a professional tone.

With another unsure nod, the young woman left the room again and it didn't take more than a few seconds before Dr Paul Greene appeared in the doorway.

_"Dr Shepard?"_

Jack rose from his seat by the sound of his name. _"Hi. I was just wondering about Kate's current condition, if you overlook the whole amnesia thing."_

The black haired doctor gave him an unimpressed look, not liking the fact that he had been dragged in here and away from whatever it was he had been doing.

_"Well, the hairline stress fracture isn't really a reason to keep her here. The fact that she's undernourished though is kind of worrying. We'll have to put her on an eating program with a counselor."_

_"I haven't been eating?"_ Kate interrupted confused, glancing over at Jack who was standing close to her bed.

_"Apparently not"_ The black haired man answered back, still sounding slightly irritated.

Kate let her eyes fall to the bed, a puzzled look appearing on her face as she started to chew on her lip.

_"Can she leave?"_ Jack asked bluntly, making Kate looked back up, her eyes darting back and forth between the two men.

_"What? Of course she can't. I don't know who she is, I can't just check her out of the hospital"_ The younger man answered edgily, glaring at Jack.

_"I meant temporarily. I could take her back to her place, getting something to help identifying her, like a passport, driving license, birth certificate or something like that."_

_"Why can't you go by yourself, its not like she remembers where they are. And why haven't you been there already? We could have identified her immediately if you had."_ The doctor snapped back at him with an aggravated look.

_"Can she come or are we going to have a problem?"_ Jack asked sternly, giving Dr Greene a daring look. They both knew that Jack had a higher informal rank at the hospital than the younger black haired man. He knew it was kind of low to play the rank card but Jack didn't really care.

_"No I suppose she could temporarily leave. But you'll have full responsibility for her and she has to be back in a couple of hours." _The man responded with a forced voice, glancing over at the brunette sitting slightly shocked on the bed.

_"Deal"_ Jack said triumphantly as he turned to Kate and gave her a wide smile.

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_Please leave a little review :)_

_a Kate-pov of the world outside the hospital walls, coming up next :)_


	18. Chapter 18

_thx for the reviews guys. heres a new chappy._

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**Chapter Eighteen**

Kate watched Jack as he drove out of the hospital's parking garage. He suddenly turned his head and glanced at her, giving her a small reassuring smile which she shyly returned. Letting her eyes fall to her lap she gently tried to brush off some mud from her jeans. Being the only pants she had had at the hospital she had been forced to put them back on. The top she had worn had been torn though, so Jack had brought her one of his white shirts from his office. The material felt much nicer against her skin than the hospital gown she had worn. It smelled a lot nicer too.

Kate was fingering on the key they had found in the small box with her belongings. When she had been brought in they had emptied her pockets, hoping to find some kind of identification. Instead they had found the key she was holding, the small rock, 2 dollars as well as Jack's business card.

Letting her fingertips run over the smooth surface of the key, Kate let out inaudible sigh. She had the strangest feeling in her body. In a way making her feel oblivious to everything going on in her own life, but at the same time everything was spinning. Thoughts mixed with photographic pictures as well as voices. She guessed they were all fragments of memories. Memories she wasn't able to puzzle together and therefore they made absolutely no sane at all.

She hoped seeing her home would bring back some kind of memory, or at least a feeling of recognition. Kate inhaled, taking in the calming smell of Jack's white shirt. A blush crept up on her cheeks as she wondered if she had ever worn one of his shirts before.

Kate still couldn't figure out how she knew this man. Why would she carry around his business card? The most logical explanation would be that she was his patient, but since they hadn't been able to identify her that couldn't be.

She felt nervous, not sure how to act around him. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him but she hadn't built up enough courage to do so yet.

It was all so strange. He definitely knew her, even his daughter knew her, still they hadn't identified her, even with his help. How is that possible?

Kate let her eyes travel back to Jack, watching him closely. He looked stressed, she thought miserably. The guy looked like he had enough to worry about without taking her under his wings. She watched as he let his eyes leave the road for a second, glancing at his watch. He let out a frustrated sigh as his eyes traveled back up to the road in front of them.

Kate followed his eyes and looked at the watch as well. It was 8 o'clock, fairly late in her head. At the hospital, which was all she knew right now, at 8 o'clock everything had died down. All the visitors had left as well as the day working staff. It was rare that anyone passed by in the corridor after 8 o'clock and if someone did, it was usually a nurse doing the night round.

Letting her eyes fall back at the watch, Kate narrowed her eyes in slight confusion. It was already 8 o'clock? Shouldn't they be there yet? How far away did she live? From what Jack had said back at the hospital, it had sounded like it was fairly close to her place from the hospital.

"Jack?" Kate said shyly, trying to get the man's attention.

"Yeah?" He replied softly, turning his head slightly towards her for a second.

"Are we there yet? We're supposed to be back at the hospital soon." Her voice was full of nervousness. She wasn't sure why. It wasn't that she was afraid of him, but the fact that she didn't know where this man was taking her did have an involuntarily effect on her.

Jack's eyes shifted slightly and an apologizing expression appeared on his face. "We're not going to your place and we're not going back to the hospital anytime soon."

If it hadn't been for the reassuring and calm voice Jack had spoken with, Kate was sure that the man's words had terrified her. "Where are we going?" She asked back, her voice trembling slightly.

Tilting his head towards her, Jack gave her a small smile. "Back to my place, I have something I need to do. I thought we could go to your place after that."

Raising her eye browses, Kate stared at the side of Jack's face. "What about the hospital?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll call Dr Greene and tell him that I'll drive you back later tonight." Jack answered calmly as he made a sharp left turn, before parking the car on the driveway.

Kate stayed in her seat as Jack turned off the engine and opened his door. She took in the beautiful house in awe as she slowly unhooked her seatbelt. Jack had already moved around the car and managed to open her door, as well as offering her his hand, before she even had a chance to locate the door handle.

Kate glanced up at him before nervously taking his hand, allowing him to help her out of the car. She wondered if the act was forced or if it came natural for this man to be this protective and polite to everybody around him.

Walking up to the front door, Kate realized that he hadn't left go of her hand. He wasn't holding it particularly tight. If she had wanted she could easily have slipped her hand out of his, but she didn't. The contact brought her a feeling of safety and since she had no idea what to except to find behind the door that was now in front of her, she thought she could need it.

Kate watched Jack as he unlocked the white fancy door. She unconsciously took a deep breath as he brought her inside, now holding his hand slightly firmer.

Before she even had a chance to look around, a young woman appeared in the hallway with a very shocked expression on her face. On second thought the girl didn't look just shocked, she looked fairly angry as well.

"Hey. Is she asleep?" Jack asked the blonde woman as he glanced at his wrist watch.

"No, I just tucked her in." Amy answered distractedly, not letting her eyes leave Kate for a second.

Kate swallowed nervously. She hated the way this woman was looking at her. Who was she anyway? No way that she was Jack's wife. Looking the blonde over, Kate guessed that she was less than 20. The fact that Hannah was about 4 years old made it unlikely that the woman was his wife.

Noticing that the girl was still staring at her, Kate shifted nervously. Glancing down at herself, Kate took in the large white shirt and realized that it probably looked suspicious with her wearing what were obviously Jack's clothes.

Jack had apparently noticed the shocked look as well since he let go of her hand the second the young girl's eyes fell on their intertwined fingers. "Oh right." Jack suddenly interrupted the tensed silence. "Amy, this is Kate. Kate, this is Hannah's babysitter, Amy."

Of course, Kate thought to herself. How couldn't she have guessed that.

The younger woman greeted her with a small nod before clearing her throat. "If you want to say goodnight to Hannah you should probably hurry because she'll probably fall asleep any second."

Jack gently placed a hand on her back, leading Kate through the corridor. He stopped in front of a door and opened it carefully, trying not to make any unnecessary noises.

Kate stayed in the doorway watching Jack as he slipped inside and made his way over to the bed. Kate watched as he sat down on the edge and whispered softly to the little girl who had already been firmly tucked in.

She couldn't make out what he said but she saw how he gently let his fingers run over her cheek before he leaned forward and placed a kiss on the child's forehead.

He was soon standing back in the hallway, carefully closing the door before turning to face her.

Kate gave him a sweet smile. "Was that why we came here?"

"Yeah" Jack answered, blushing slightly.

Further down the hall Amy had put on her jacket and gathered her things. "Mr. Shepard, I'm going home now, I guess I'll see you on Monday."

"What? No, wait. We're actually leaving again." Jack said as he hurriedly paced back down the corridor.

Kate quietly followed him and stopped on a safe distance from the man and the young blonde who had an expression of disbelief on her face.

"Seriously?" Amy asked, sounding rather disappointed, the teen had apparently not planned to stay any longer.

Jack gave her an apologizing smile. "Yeah, we need to do an errand… kind of thing." It sounded cryptic and definitely like he was lying, which resulted in the young girl giving him a suspicious look.

Amy exhaled with a sigh. "I'm sorry but I can't. We're leaving in the morning so I was supposed to be home before 8 o'clock, mom is going to kill me."

Jack looked defeated, giving the teen a small nod. "Of course, I'll see you Monday. Night Amy."

"Bye" With a forced smile the girl opened the door and slipped out of the house, leaving Kate alone with Jack.

"Sorry. Is it alright if we drive by your place in the morning?"

Kate shifted nervously. It suddenly felt like she was on thin ice, like she was losing control over the situation. She was supposed to be back at the hospital in less than an hour. That was the plan. Not to spend the night at Jack's house.

She hated this. Not the fact that she was stuck at his house. That didn't really bother her, but the fact that she couldn't control it.

Realizing she hadn't answered him, Kate nodded faintly.

Jack placed one of his hands on her arm, giving her an apologizing look. "I'm really sorry. I hadn't intended this."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it" Kate answered softly, feeling the need to reassuring Jack that she wasn't freaking out.

Giving her a small smile, Jack stepped back and let his hand slide off her arm. "Would you like a tour of the house?"

Kate nodded excitedly and followed Jack back down the light colored corridor.

"Have I been here before?" Kate asked curiously as they stepped into the kitchen, making Jack turn around rapidly to face her.

"Yeah, do you remember something?" he asked expectantly.

Kate shook her head slowly, feeling slightly bad for getting his hopes up with her question.

After a quick tour through the house they had settled in the living room. Jack had brought supper to the dining table but Kate was still wandering around in the room. She could feel Jack watching her as she moved around and inspected everything in the room closely. She loved the family photographs that were spread out not only in this room but throughout the whole house. It felt very homey.

A few minutes of silence passed before Kate broke it with a small muffled sound. "Uhm... So… We're friends, right?"

Jack glanced over at her with a slightly amused look on his face, obviously curious to where she was going with the question. "Yeah, we're friends."

Kate looked down at the photograph in front of her again, she definitely knew where she was going with her question, but she didn't want to ask him straight out. "Am I a friend of your wife's too?"

"No" Jack answered shortly, raising one of his eyebrows slightly.

The reply sounded strained, but when Kate looked up at him she was met by penetrating eyes daring her to continue.

Kate broke eye contact and stared down at the floor. Great. What did that mean? That he was having on affair and she was the mistress?

She almost jumped when she suddenly felt Jack's fingertips on her chin bring her head up to level with his again. The brief contact made her shiver even if it was only for a second. How had he gotten up and walked over to her without her noticing?

Looking up she noticed that his eyes had changed. They where now sympathizing and kind, he was no longer planning on toying or teasing with her.

"My wife passed away a while ago."

"Oh" Kate managed to say as she gave Jack an apologizing look. She studied his face, trying to read his expression. She loved watching him. It felt familiar, which was a very rare feeling when you had no memory of anything whatsoever. It didn't feel like she recognized him, but like she knew his face. She was able to read him even though he visibly didn't show it.

They had moved closer and Jack was studying her just like she had done him. The difference was that his eyes weren't darting around trying to read her whole face, instead they had settled on her lips.

Realizing that he was literally staring at her lips Kate felt butterflies in her stomach. What was he doing? Was he really thinking about kissing her? Was this something normal for them to do? She tried to focus on the questions in her head but the brown eyes in front of her where way too distracting. Like an instinct she glanced down at his lips as well.

Kate could feel Jack's hands slide down her arms and down to her waist before they sneaked behind her back and he drew her closer. Holding her breath, Kate closed her eyes just as Jack's lips touched hers, but to her surprise the contact were broken just a quickly. Kate opened her eyes and watched a very unsure Jack take a step back from her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." Jack stuttered, dropping his arms to his sides. An uncomfortable silence fell over them, both of them just standing there, staring at each other.

Jack cleared his throat nervously, glancing down at the floor. "I'll show you to the guest room…"

Feeling confused, Kate followed Jack with her eyes as he disappeared down the hall before moving from her spot to follow him.

She was trying to wrap her mind around what just happened. Why did he pull back?

A soft hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality from her thoughts. Jack had stopped in front of a door she didn't recognize. He hadn't showed her this room during the tour of the house.

He opened the door and moved to the side to allow her access to the light green colored guestroom.

"There is a bathroom through that door" Jack said distractedly, giving away that he couldn't wait to leave.

"Thanks" Kate replied with a small smile. She hated that it suddenly was awkward between them. She kind of blamed him. He had been the one who kissed her.

Noticing that Jack had disappeared, Kate stepped inside the room, letting her eyes run over the furniture. It reminded her of all the other rooms in the house.

Seconds later Jack reappeared in the doorway with a grey T-shirt in his hand.

Giving him an appreciative smile, Kate took the shirt. Jack returned the smile and she could feel that a little of the uncomfortable tension between them had already disappeared.

"I'll see you in the morning. I'm right across the hall if you need anything." Jack explained reassuringly, pointing slightly at the door behind him.

"Okay, thanks. Goodnight" Kate closed the door and leaned heavily against it before walking over to the bed where she undressed and pulled on the grey T-shirt. Climbing into the welcoming bed, Kate buried her nose in the soft material of the shirt as she slowly drifted off to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

_next chap as promised._

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**Chapter Nineteen**

The four year olds eyes shot open in horror as she sat straight up in her bed. It was becoming almost a routine for the little girl to wake up in the middle of the night, usually covered in sweat as well as tangled up in the silky like sheets.

Usually she stayed in her room, tossing and turning until she finally fell back to sleep. Other nights she sneaked out of her room and down the hall to her daddy and fell back to sleep in his protective embrace.

Hannah used the back of her hand to wipe away a small tear that was making its way down her cheek. She was too old to cry, she knew that. "Only babies cry" Hannah mumbled quietly.

Grabbing the brown stuffed horse lying next to her, Hannah crawled out of bed and made her way to the door. Tiptoeing through the dark corridor, Hannah tried to walk closely to the walls. She didn't like the feeling that someone could sneaking up on her from behind in the dark.

She stopped outside Jack's door and opened it as quietly as she could. The worst thing she knew was when her dad told her to go back to bed. Best way to avoid that was to just sneak into the room without waking him at all.

It took Hannah several steps into the room until she realized that it was empty. Narrowing her eyes in puzzlement, the child turned around and left the room, planning on checking the kitchen. Made it was early morning after all.

Closing the bedroom door behind her, Hannah heard quite muffled sounds from the room behind her. Turning around in both surprise and confusion the girl placed her ear against the wooden door in an attempt to identify the noise.

Why would daddy sleep in the guestroom? He'd never slept in there before. Only Aunt Jennifer did, or possibly grandma.

She stood silently in the corridor, leaning against the door. Her curiosity had taken over completely. After eavesdropping for a few minutes, Hannah was sure that her father was not the one behind the door.

It had to be someone else, but who? Amy had spent the night there once. Maybe the babysitter hadn't left after daddy came back home. Maybe she, for some unknown reason had spent the night… Hannah frowned. It did not sound very likely.

Taking a deep breath, the young girl opened the door. The room was dark, just as dark as her father's room had been, making it impossible for her to see who the figure she could make out on the bed actually was.

Stepping closer, Hannah took in the mysterious persons long brown hair. Her mind immediately screamed Kate. Could it actually be Kate? Hannah asked herself. Wasn't she at the hospital?

Walking around the bed, Hannah grinned happily. It was Kate.

Did daddy know that Kate was here? Of course he does, Hannah thought and giggled quietly. Daddy must have brought her with him home from the hospital.

The brunette on the bed suddenly turned slightly and moved her hand in a violent movement, mumbling something impossible to hear.

Hannah stared in astonishment at the woman. Was she having a nightmare? She once more followed the motion of Kate's left hand as it moved through the air before finally settling on the pillow. Without warning, Kate suddenly sat up straight in the bed, panting. Hannah jumped in surprise and took a step back from the bed just as the woman's eyes fell on her.

Unsure what to say, Hannah considered to run back to her own room, but she knew Kate had already seen her so there was no real point in trying to escape now.

The child let her eyes fall to the floor. "Sorry if I waked you." Hannah whispered quietly, hoping that Kate wouldn't tell Jack that she had been in there and woken up their houseguest.

"Its okay" A sweet voice whispered back, making Hannah glance up at the brunette. She didn't look mad, if anything she looked scared. The woman's expression reminded her very much of her own after waking up from a nightmare. Was that what had happened?

Hannah followed Kate's eyes as they traveled to the alarm clock on the nightstand. Holding her breath, Hannah waited for the adult to turn back and question what she was doing there so late.

Just as she had predicted, Kate turned around with a concerned expression on her face. "What are you doing up Hannah?" What surprised her was that the woman's voice was soft. She didn't sound upset at all.

Unsure what to answer, Hannah shifted her weight to her left leg, hugging her stuffed animal as close to her body as she could. Glancing back up at Kate, she saw that the brunette had moved the cover and made room for her to crawl into the bed.

After settling herself down next to Kate, Hannah gave the woman a weak heartbreaking smile. "I had a bad dream" Hannah divulged shamefully.

"Me too…" Kate immediately responded, making Hannah look up at her in surprise.

"You did?" Hannah asked and got a small nod as conformation. Unsure how to respond to this new information, Hannah let her eyes fall down slightly. Never had a grown up told her that they had nightmares. Daddy always told her it was normal to have them, but had never said that he had nightmares as well.

Maybe Kate wasn't like other adults. Well the brunette was a lot nicer than a lot of grown ups she had met, so that definitely talked for that theory. Or maybe Kate wasn't a grown up. Hannah frowned and played slightly with the tail of her stuffed animal. Even if she was only 4, she wasn't stupid. She was aware that some people were older than other and some younger. Children turned into young grown ups and then into real adults making them more and more boring until they turned into old people when some turned a little more playful again.

Hannah glanced up at Kate, trying to determine how old the young woman could be. She was after all not very tall. From what she had seen earlier she was a lot shorter than dad and probably even shorter than Amy. Amy was still in school and not very old at all, definitely classed as a young grown up.

"How old are you"?" Hannah suddenly asked curiously, trying to get an answer to at least one of all the questions spinning around in her head.

Kate looked surprised at the question but the expression almost immediately turned to something else. Something Hannah couldn't make out, but she knew it wasn't good. It looked like Kate would start crying any second.

"Did I say something bad?" Hannah asked worriedly, placing a small hand on Kate's arm.

"No. I'm just really tired." Searching in the woman's eyes, Hannah got the felling that she wasn't tired at all. Unsure why Kate would lie to her, the four year old settled down properly in the bed and drew the cover closer.

Hannah shifted a little closer to Kate, placing her stuffed horse in between them. "Kate?"

The woman propped herself up on one of her arm bows. "Yea?"

"Are you and daddy going to get married?" Hannah asked carefully, tilting her head enough to meet Kate's shocked eyes.

She could feel the brunette studying her, looking deep in thought. "Why do you ask? Do you think we are going to get married?"

Yeah, why did she ask? Hannah glanced down at the stuffed animal toy, trying to collect her thoughts. Daddy never said anything about them not getting married. Just that Kate would never take her mother's place. The scenario of Kate taking her mother's place wouldn't really exist unless Kate moved in and got married to her father.

Hannah glanced back up at Kate. She sighed quietly feeling exhausted from just trying to puzzle things together in her head. She couldn't even amazing what it was like to be a grown up when it was so complicated and confusing just hearing about their lives.

"Daddy promised that…" Hannah trailed off realizing that maybe she wasn't supposed to talk to Kate about this, for some odd reason grown ups always kept other adults in the dark about things. She never really understood why. Wasn't it easier if you just told people the truth from the beginning?

"Daddy promised what?" Kate asked impatiently.

"Just something about mom…" Hannah said quietly. "…That you won't take her place."

Kate looked taken back at the words. "Jack, said that?"

Hannah nodded slightly before moving slightly closer to Kate, burying her face in the pillow. She shifted her position again, once more moving closer to the brunette. Was she imagining things, or did Kate actually smell like dad? Blocking the new questions forming in her little head, Hannah closed her eyes and inhaled the very familiar scent.

Before falling into a peaceful bliss, Hannah felt Kate gently place a hand on her shoulder. "Hannah, I'm not going to take your mother's place. I promise."


	20. Chapter 20

_thx for the reviews. glad you still like the story and sorry for the slow update_

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**Chapter Twenty**

Kate felt fairly rested when she woke up early the next morning. Confused by the warmth next to her, she rolled over and opened her eyes. She was met by a fussy mess of light-brown hair which concealed Hannah's face.

Remembering that the little girl had crawled into her bed last night, Kate smiled to herself, feeling proud by the fact that Hannah apparently felt safe with her.

Kate moved the cover slightly to climb out of the guest bed. She paced quietly to the door, holding her breath as the wooden floor squeaked under her feet. Kate stopped outside the door and glanced down at the grey T-shirt she was wearing. She felt kind of undressed but didn't feel like putting her jeans back on, so she let the issue drop and followed the corridor down to the living room.

She wasn't sure if she hoped that Jack was up yet or not. Either way she hoped that it wouldn't be awkward between them. It felt like that stupid little peck he had given her had screwed everything up.

Just as she walked into the living room, Kate froze in her step. A woman with light brown hair stood on the opposite side of the living room, almost in the doorway to the kitchen. She had almost the exact same expression on her face as Kate, both women waiting for the other one to explain who they were.

Kate opened her mouth slowly to say something, but closed it again, unable to utter any audible words.

"Who are you?" The light brown haired woman finally asked, sounding fairly defensive.

Kate could feel the pair of brown eyes traveling over her body from head to toe. She wanted to kick herself for not throwing her jeans on. For the second time she had managed to run into an unknown women in Jack's house, wearing his clothes. This time it was even worse than the night before. Now it was barely 8 o'clock in the morning, a very suspicious time to be running around someone else's house in just a T-shirt, in just Jack's T-shirt and on top of that, Jack was no where to be seen to explain things to this woman who apparently knew him, who was now staring at her in complete shock.

"Um, I.. I'm Kate, a friend of Jack's." Kate managed to get out.

A friend of Jack's? Well it was better than saying nothing. After all, this woman could be anything from a woman working with Jack to a close friend or maybe even a girlfriend. "Who are you?"

Kate tugged slightly on the hem of the grey T-shirt, feeling uncomfortable standing with bare legs while the other woman was dressed in a pair of fancy-looking dress pants with a light pink blouse.

The woman stood with her mouth slightly open, still looking completely puzzled by the fact that Kate was standing there. Narrowing her eyes, the woman let her eyes leave Kate for a second.

"Where is Jack?" The brunette inquired, ignoring the question Kate had asked her.

Kate once more found her self unable to answer, but just as she was about to open her mouth and say that she had no idea, she felt two warm arms being wrapped around her waist from behind.

The sudden contact made her jump slightly. Tilting her head back, Kate saw Jack's apologizing face. Feeling silly for being so startled, Kate gave him a small smile as he let go of her and looked over at the fancy dressed woman who now had walked across the living room and was standing right in front of them.

"Hi Jack" The woman said warily, looking more at Kate than at the man she was talking to.

"Hey Jennifer" Jack said sweetly, as he walked over and hugged her. Kate shifted nervously as she watched a smile spread across the woman's face as she embraced Jack. Well they definitely knew each other… Why did she even care? She didn't, Kate told herself, and she was definitely not jealous.

When Jack stepped back, the woman gave him a curious look, indicating that she wanted him to tell her something. Jack cleared his throat and turned back to Kate, obviously ignoring 'Jennifer'.

She could feel his eyes traveling over her body. Not like the woman's had done minutes earlier. Jack's eyes were different. It felt more like he was undressing her with his eyes than taking in her appearance.

"Kate, why don't you go and get dressed" Jack said slowly, not even bothering to hide that he was looking at her legs. "I'm gonna talk to Jen for a second, ok?"

With a weak 'ok' Kate left the living room and paced back down to the guest room. It somehow felt like Jack had just treated her like a child. Telling her what to do and right now he had just sent her back to 'her' room.

Opening the door, Kate's eyes fell on Hannah who was still sleeping peacefully on the bed. Moving smoothly over the floor, Kate grabbed her jeans and pulled them on. Glancing at the Jack's white shirt she had worn yesterday, Kate decided to keep the grey T-shirt on instead until she found something else to wear.

Sneaking back to the door, Kate stopped when she heard a muffled sound from the bed.

"Kate?"

Turning around, Kate smiled at the sleeping looking child who was sitting up on the bed. "Good morning Hannah."

"I'm glad you didn't leave like before" Hannah said groggily as she shifted over to the edge of the bed and stepped down on the floor, still looked like she was half asleep.

Kate gave the little girl another smile, unsure what she meant. Taking a step closer, Kate lifted her up and Hannah wrapped her legs around her waist. The child let out a content sigh as she placed her head on Kate's shoulder.

Kate glanced back at the door over the four-year olds head, trying to decide if she was going to carry Hannah back out to the living room or put her back to bed.

After a few seconds she headed back out to the hall still carrying the girl. She stopped a in the doorway as she saw the Jack sitting on the couch.

"And now she's living here?" It was the woman's voice. Kate couldn't actually see her, the wall blocked a part of Kate's view of the living room but it sounded like she was just a few feet away from Jack.

"Well, no. Not really." Jack answered tiredly. Kate could see his shoulders falling down, making him looked defeated and even a little sad.

"I can't believe this. You have some woman living here with you and you don't even tell me!." Kate saw the brunette for a second as she paced in and out of view, still having that shocked expression on her face which she had seen earlier.

"I called and asked you to come over, didn't I?" Jack said defensively.

"To baby-sit!" Kate heard the woman say, raising her voice considerably.

The second Kate's eyes fell back on Jack she realized he had noticed her. Not bothering to wait for him to say something, she confidently walked into the room and at once received a glare from Jennifer.

"Hey" Jack said quietly as he gestured for Kate to sit down next to him on the couch.

Sitting down, Kate shifted slightly as she moved Hannah over to Jack's lap. She could feel herself blushing, when Jack gave her a confused look as he glanced back and forth between her and his daughter.

"Jen is gonna take Hannah for a couple of hours while we check out your place" Jack explained as he glared at the standing brunette who gave him an unimpressed look.

An awkward silence surrounded them, but Jack managed to break it fairly fast by standing up. "I'm going to put Hannah back to bed. Just tell her I'll be right back if she wakes up." Jack said, leaving the two women alone in the living room.

It felt like the silence was going to literally swallow them. Kate shifted nervously on the couch, regretting that she had sat down at all. "So, how do you know Jack?"

The woman glared back at her with a smug expression. "He's my brother"

Kate nodded slightly, taking in the information. She's his sister. Stupid! Why hadn't she even thought of that? No wonder the young woman was giving him the third degree earlier.

It didn't take long until Jack appeared in the doorway, now without the little girl in his arms. "You ready to go? We can get some breakfast on the way."

"Yeah, sure" Kate said delightfully, standing up from the couch and heading over to Jack. She shivered as she felt Jack place a hand on her lower back as he guided her out to the hallway.

"I'll be back as soon as I can" Jack called back to the woman who had stubbornly stayed in the living room.

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_leave a little review and make my day ;)_


	21. Chapter 21

_thank you for all the reviews. and thanks to my betasis for readin and helping and all._

_cookies for everyone:D_

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**Chapter Twenty-One**

The second Jack closed Kate's car door, he realized that she was still wearing his grey T-shirt. Walking around the car to get to the driver seat, he cursed under his breath for his own stupidity as he heard himself telling Kate earlier to go get dress. He reminded himself that they were indeed heading over to her place. She could shower and change clothes there if she wanted.

About thirty minutes later, Jack stopped in front of a cozy looking diner. He had told Kate a little about his little sister on the way there. That she was 22 and worked as some kind of telephone operator. He had explained vaguely that Jennifer had moved away from home when she was 18, moved to San Diego with her boyfriend and when they had broken up about a year ago, she had moved back to Los Angeles.

Kate glanced over confused at Jack as he stepped out of the car. She followed his example and opened her own door and stepped out on the almost empty parking lot. "Hm Jack? Where are we?"

"I thought we could get some breakfast first…" He answered shyly, nodding towards the building in front of them.

At least they had time. It was 8 o'clock and he had told Kate's doctor that he would have her back around noon. Dr Greene had been furious and Jack had managed to make it even worse acting all nonchalant on the phone.

Walking across the parking lot side by side, Jack felt Kate slip her hand into his. He could see in the corner of his eyes that she was waiting impatiently for a reaction from him. Tilting his head slightly, he smiled at her and squeezed her hand gently.

It all felt surreal, but it still felt so good, so right.

Kate was different though. Not particularly in a bad way, maybe even the opposite. She was more open and daring, which was really odd considering she didn't remember anything. It would have been a lot more logical if she suddenly had become insecure and mistrustful.

Letting go of her hand, Jack opened the door to the diner. They were seated at a small table in the corner and got to order right away.

Jack was taking in Kate's facial features when the waiter reappeared and placed several breakfast dishes in front of them. Forcing his eyes down to the table Jack played discreetly with his fork, occasionally glancing over at the beautiful brunette on the other side of the table.

He wasn't sure what to say. Not that he hadn't any topics in mind, because he had several. Like why she came carrying a sleeping Hannah this morning or what she and Jennifer had talked about before he walked into the living room. Not to start with how she felt about her life in general. Did she remember something? Was she scared? Did she have any questions? How could she not have any questions about her life?

Jack accidentally dropped his fork, startling himself as well as Kate.

"You okay?" Kate asked worriedly, watching him closely as he picked the fork back up.

"Yeah. Sorry. I'm fine." Jack mumbled as he glanced around in the empty café. He rarely had breakfast anywhere but at home. Occasionally it happened that he skipped breakfast and grabbed something from the cafeteria at the hospital but he couldn't remember the last time he had actually stopped by some place to sit down and eat breakfast.

"You're sister seems nice" Kate said quietly, obviously trying to break the silence.

Jack raised one of his eye brows and gave her disbelieving look. "What?"

Kate shifted in her chair, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Well, she seemed like she cared a lot about you. Uh, you know like… protective and stuff."

An amused smile spread across Jack's face. He could tell Kate was trying to cover up what she had said because of his reaction. Feeling slightly sorry for making her uncomfortable, he gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, she's been like that since Hannah's mother died."

Truthfully he had nothing against Jennifer being protective and caring when it came to him and Hannah. He loved his sister unconditionally and was actually thrilled by the fact that she had moved back to New York and that they were getting closer again.

Kate nodded thoughtfully and then let her eyes drop to her plate.

Clearing her throat, Kate looked back up at Jack, hesitating slightly before opening her mouth. "Could you tell me about me?"

"Sure" Jack answered, giving Kate an understanding nod. "I don't really know you that well, but your name is Kate and you're 24 years old." Kate smiled appreciatively at him as he continued. "You work as a waitress… and you're a vegetarian" Jack said with a smirk nodding towards her plate.

Kate swallowed slowly before letting her eyes drop to her plate, inspecting the slices of bacon still lying there. "Really?"

Jack laughed as he shrugged. "I don't know. At least I think so"

"That sucks" Kate said loudly as she forcefully put her fork down before letting out a small laugh, grinning at Jack.

The rest of the meal went smooth. They had joked around a bit about nothing in particular then Jack had paid for them before they had left the diner.

Getting back into the car, Jack drove off, trying to remember the location of Kate's so call apartment. He was slightly worried about her reaction about her residence. He had no idea what she was expecting, but for her own good her expectations better not be very high.

Finally arriving at the dark building, Jack stopped the car and looked over at Kate to catch her reaction from seeing the house. She immediately turned to Jack when the car stopped moving and gave him a pleading look, begging him with her eyes for him to tell her that he was kidding.

Giving her a small apologizing smile, Jack looked passed her and over to her building. "This is it…"

Kate followed his gaze out the window and sighed before stepping out of the car. "Alright, let's go then"

Opening the door with Kate's key, Jack grumbled quietly when he didn't managed to unlock it at once. Finally getting the door open, he stepped aside slightly to let Kate in first.

Walking only a step behind her, Jack carefully placed a hand on her shoulder as he switched on the light in the room.

Taking in the place for a second time, Jack walked around more freely than the first time he had been there, but he held himself back from touching anything. He let his eyes travel over the boxes piled up on one side of the room, he continued around the room, the open bathroom door, the small window in the ceiling, more boxes and finally the makeshift bed on the floor. The fact that Kate had slept in here, on the floor, made his chest tighten in pain. Turning around his eyes fell on Kate who was still standing in the middle of the room taking it in, much like him.

She caught him watching her and gave him a miserable look. "So this is where I live?"

"Afraid so" Jack answered, glancing around the room once more.

"Have you been here before?" Kate asked as she carefully started to look through a box in front of her.

Jack walked over to the makeshift bed and kneeled down to look through a smaller box placed right next to the bed. "Yeah, I've been here twice, only been inside once though." He answered distractedly as he browsed through some papers.

He heard Kate move behind him, pacing over to the other side of the room and then the sound of boxes being moved.

Finding a small pile of photographs Jack sat down on the mountain of blankets that was supposed to be Kate's bed and started to flip through them. First one was a wedding picture of a young couple, Jack thought that they resembled Kate slightly and guessed that it was her parents as he flipped to the next photo. It portrayed the same man that had been in the wedding photo as well as a little girl about 5 or 6 years old. He couldn't actually see the child's face, but the wavy brown hair made him pretty sure that it was Kate.

Definitely Kate, Jack thought to himself as he smiled down at the next photo which was a portrait of a little girl, younger this time, with green eyes and wavy brown hair, dressed in a light yellow dress.

Smiling once more, he flipped through the rest of the pictures, a couple more of Kate as a child, a few of her as a teenager, most together with another brunette as well as a blonde guy and finally one photo of a golden retriever with an older woman.

Kate sat down next to him just as he was about to go back to browsing through the shoebox. "Can I see?" Kate asked softly, reaching for the photographs.

"Of course" Jack said, handing the pictures over before placing the small box in his lap, continuing looking through it.

He heard Kate whisper cute dog to herself and then suddenly she held up a picture for him to see. "Oh my God she's so cute." Kate's was sounded unnaturally girly and childish, like she was talking to a child or more like she was a child herself.

Jack grinned at her when he saw the photo. "I think that's you"

Kate's eyes widen as she turned the picture back to look at it herself. Blushing, she let out a small noise sounding like 'oh'. He laughed and shook his head slightly at her reaction.

Holding up a small toy plane from the box, Jack looked back over at Kate to see if she had any idea what it was. With a shrug and a clueless expression, she leaned over the bed and grabbed a bag that was on the end of it. While she emptied it on the bed, Jack continued with his box.

He knew he should be looking more carefully than he was. It was after all very likely that what they were looking for was in that particular box. People usually had their important and personal belongings in the same place and childhood photographs definitely fit that category.

There were a lot of strange things in this box that Jack definitely wouldn't have classed as personal belongings. But that's possibly the keyword there, personal, meaning different for each individual.

Jack lifted his eyebrows slightly as he held up an old copy of Moby Dick. Putting it on the bed next to him, he glanced back down in the shoe box. His eyes immediately fell on a blue fancy jewelry box. Opening it, Jack stared down at the golden necklace, fingering slightly on the pendant which he could guess held at least 10 real diamonds. This had to mean a lot to Kate, considering that she hadn't sold it even though it was probably worth loads of money.

Placing the jewelry box on top of the novel, he grabbed a small pile of papers from the box and started to flip through them. He didn't really bother to read every single paper, there were too many of them. A few receipts, a couple of used bus and train tickets, letters addressed to someone named Daniel Taylor as well as a few more photographs.

Jack narrowed his eyes and looked at the new photos. It felt like they didn't belong with the others. Maybe it wasn't a coincidence that they had been in a pile by themselves. He wasn't sure why he thought they were different though. It was four pictures, two pictures portraying a happy couple together with three children, two girls and a little boy. The next was without the couple with only the children and the second just the two girls. Jack looked at the first one again and eyed the adults closely. Neither had any resemblance to Kate nor any of the people he had seen in the other pictures.

Trying to focus on finding a birth certificate or something like that, Jack put the pictures aside as well and sighed quietly as he went back to looking thought the now almost empty box. He suddenly stopped browsing and flipped back a few papers. There it was, a passport. Taking it out of the box, Jack opened it over and his eyes immediately fell on the black and white photograph of Kate in the corner.

His eyes then moved over the text and he suddenly felt himself freeze.

Elizabeth Ryan. Who the hell was Elizabeth Ryan? He read the name a few more times to make sure he hadn't imagined it. No it definitely said Elizabeth Ryan.

Jack closed the passport and let his hand fall down to his lap as he turned to look at Kate who was still busy going through every item of the bag she had emptied.

What exactly did this mean? Kate had lied about her name. It wasn't Kate, it was Elizabeth. Why would she do that? Jack felt indescribably confused. What else had she lied about? Not that he knew much about her. The only thing he had really known was that her name was Kate.

Kate's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Jack…" Her voice was trembling, making her sound like a frighten child. The sudden change made him focus his eyes back on her.

She did look scared, her eyes flashing of panic. Following her gaze, Jack's eyes fell on the black gun lying next to them on the bed.

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_r&r_


	22. Chapter 22

I know I'm terrible at updating :( Ive had a lot going on tho, and to be honest I wasnt planning on updating at all... : but my friends convinced me and I was feeling all guilty so here you go, more chapters.. :)

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**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Kate could feel herself starting to hyperventilate. Not really aware of that Jack had taken hold of her arm to steady her, her whole body started to tremble before she collapsed into Jack's embrace and the surrounding world turned black.

Kate stirred slightly as she tried to sit back up. Suddenly unsure of her whereabouts she opened her eyes slowly and was met by Jack's worried face.

"Are you okay?" Jack's soft voice asked concerned.

Glancing around on the bed, Kate shook her head frenetically as a single tear made its way down her cheek. Everything started to feel blurry again, all her thoughts spinning without control in her head. What the hell was going on? Who was she? Why did she have a gun? How did Jack fit in to all of this?

"No, I'm not okay" Kate said sternly as she slipped out of Jack's arms and rose from the bed. Walking across the room and back again, Kate stopped and stared down at the gun.

"Why would I have a gun?" Kate asked breathlessly, moving her attention from the weapon and up to Jack's face.

He gave her an apprehensive look before carefully taking the gun and inspected it closely. "It's loaded…" Jack said quietly with a disturbed voice as he unloaded the gun and took out the magazine and put it on the bed next to him as well as the bullet stored in the chamber.

Jack rose from the bed and started pacing around in the room. "I can't believe you brought Hannah here when you had a loaded gun lying around" He sounded genially upset. She didn't actually remember bringing Hannah to this dump, but if she had, she didn't blame him if he hated her by now.

Kate sat down heavily on the bed, burying her face in her hands. What she wouldn't give to get her memory back right now. No matter how bad the truth was, she would do anything to get an explanation to what was going on.

Running one of her hands through her messy hair, Kate's eyes fell on the black passport that Jack had placed on top of the pile of items on the bed. Opening it hesitatively, she could feel tears filling her eyes as she read the name printed on it.

Kate tilted her head slightly and met the disappointed look in Jack's eyes. Breaking eye contact by closing her eyes she felt warm tears slowly rolling down her checks.

She heard Jack sigh which only made her press her eyelids tighter together. The passport was suddenly taken out of her hands and Kate opened her eyes to find Jack sitting next to her on the makeshift bed.

"Hey… it's okay. Just because you have a gun in your possession doesn't mean-"

"Don't" She didn't want to hear it. She didn't deserve him defending her. She didn't deserve his sympathy or his concern.

Kate jumped by the sound of Jack's cell phone. She watched in the corner of her eye how he flipped it open and answered with a harsh 'What?'

Jack rose from the bed and walked a couple of steps and stopped, facing away from Kate. "Yes, this is him" Jack said in a professional tone.

Kate stared into his back, wishing she knew who he was talking to. He unexpectedly turned around and looked directly into her eyes. He stayed quite for a few seconds, searching for something in her eyes.

"What are talking about? I dropped her off at the hospital an hour ago." Kate could feel herself shiver by the soft look that was suddenly on his face. What was he doing? Was he lying for her now too?

"No I have no idea where she could be." Jack continued into the phone, turning slightly away from Kate, staring into the wall. A moment of silence fell over the room, until Jack finally spoke again. "Yeah, I promise to call if I hear from her."

Putting the phone back in his pocket, Jack turned back to the brunette with a torn look in his face. "Apparently there are two police officers are at the hospital who want to talk to you."

The second the words had left Jack's mouth, Kate could feel her breathing picking up pace, as well as her heartbeat. The police were looking for her? Why? What had she done to have the police looking for her?

Jack kneeled down in front of her on the floor and gave her a soft sympathetic look. Placing a hand on each side of her legs, Kate had no choice but to meet his eyes. "I don't think the police men at the hospital are looking for you because of this." Jack's voice was gentle but changed slightly to an odd tone at the word 'this'.

"My guess is that it's about what happened to you three days ago. They probably want to know what you remember, even though we told them that you didn't remember anything. Plus the fact that you're technically a Jane Doe, meaning they'll try to help identify you."

Jack glanced down at the passport, before giving her a knowing look. "Guess you won't need help with that."

Kate lowered her head slightly, suddenly very interested in the floor. An ashamed expression speared of on her face, as she started to nibble on her lower lip.

"Kate…" Jack said tenderly in an attempt to get her attention. When she looked up he continued with a soft voice. "You're not this awful person you're making up in your head."

"How do you know that?" Kate snapped back, at once feeling slightly bad for using such a sharp tone with him since she knew he was only trying to make her feel better.

"I just do, ok?" He responded confidently still with the soft and caring voice.

"How is that you know me so well, since I don't even know myself?" Kate asked once more using the sharp tone even though she had tried to reduce the harshness in her voice.

"Well for starters you saved my daughters life…" Jack begun, ignoring the fact that Kate was being discourteous.

"Really?" Her voice was suddenly weak and her eyes pleading for Jack to answer.

"Yes, these people at the park were planning on kidnapping her and you interfered and then you went all the way to Brentwood and gave her back to me. That's how we met."

Kate smiled weakly looking deep in thought. Was that true? Had she actually done that?

"Does that sound like something a fugitive would do?" Jack asked, giving her a content look.

"I guess not." Kate mumbled as a respond. It sounded unbelievable that she had interfered a kidnapping. But she was pretty sure Jack wouldn't lie to her, not even to make her feel better. Not actually remembering what had happened, Kate played a scenario of a kidnapping in her head before she suddenly looked back at Jack with an inquiring look on her face.

"So if I'm such an honest citizen…why didn't I just go to the police? It makes no sense at all. Don't even try to tell me that it does…"

"I don't know…" Jack said as he lowered his head slightly but now enough to lose eye contact with the brunette.

"And why did I lie about my name?" Kate continued, now sounding a lot more confident with her arguments.

Jack sighed "I don't know that either… but you must have had a good reason to do so. It doesn't make you a criminal Kate"

"You should stop calling me that…" Kate said defensively at the mention of her name.

"Alright." Jack concurred reluctantly. "It doesn't make you a criminal, Elizabeth." He pronounced the new name unnecessarily slow, giving Kate a discontented look.

Suppressing a sob, Kate moved further up on the makeshift bed and drew her legs up against her body, hugging them defensively. She could feel Jack watching her as she desperately tried to hold back the tears in her eyes.

She didn't want to show him how weak she really felt. How powerless and fragile she felt. Lowering her head down to her knees, Kate started crying silently.

She felt Jack move closer, placing one hand on her knee and the other on her back. "Ssh, it's okay."

Lifting her head, she took a quick look at Jack's compassioned face before burying her face in his shoulder. Breathing in his scent and being held closely in his protective arms, she suddenly felt a lot better. Not as helpless and weak as she had seconds earlier.

When she had stopped crying, she felt Jack pull back from the embrace. He gently wiped away the tears that were still on her cheeks before he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Do you wanna grab some clothes?"

Kate narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What?"

"Never mind." Jack said with an adorable little smile on his lips as he rose from the bed. "Stay right there, ok?"

Giving him a small nod, Kate watched as Jack started putting most of the things he had emptied out on the bed back into the shoebox. Following him with her eyes, Kate smiled when he started packing a bag with some of her clothes.

Tossing the bag on his shoulder, Jack walked back over to the bed and took the shoe box in on hand before taking Kate's hand with his other, pulling her up next to him. "Ready to go?"

Unsure where they were even going, Kate nodded a little disoriented as she let him lead her to the door.

Letting go of her hand, Jack opened the door to the passenger seat and waited for her to seat herself. "It's gonna be okay Kate, I promise." Jack said with a soft voice, giving her a comforting look.

"…Elizabeth" Kate mumbled as Jack closed the door.

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I'll try to update again tomorrow and the day after that. im gonna make up for my laziness ;p 


	23. Chapter 23

Thank you for the reviews :) glad you still like it

here's a HannahPOV-chappie for ya ;)

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Chapter Twenty-Three**

"Daddy!" Hannah squealed excitedly the second Jack and Kate walked into the living room. Leaving her aunt's side, the child flew across the room and into her father's arms.

"Hey princess" Jack greeted cheerfully as he kneeled down and embraced his daughter. "Did you have fun with Aunt Jennifer?"

"Yeah we played Old McDonald's Farm and then the Jungle Game grandma gave me." Hannah said happily as she smiled up at her father and then over at Kate.

Had they been holding hands when they came into the room? Hannah thought curiously to herself. She hadn't really paid attention but there was a vague image in her head that they might have when they first appeared in the doorway. The anticipation had taken over when she had heard the front door open. Glancing quickly back and forth between the adults, she stepped back from her father's embrace. Well they weren't holding hands right now…

Jack on the other hand was carrying a small box in his right hand. Hannah's eyes were immediately glued to the mysterious box and followed it with her eyes as Jack walked into the room and greeted Jennifer who was still sitting on the couch.

Kate stayed in the doorway and mumbled quietly that she was going to freshen up before she sneaked out and disappeared down the corridor.

"So…" Jennifer said to her older brother with a teasing look on her face.

Hannah loved her aunt. She was always really goofy and playful, especially towards Jack.

Picking up the soft polar bear from the floor that she had tossed there earlier, Hannah stayed on a fair distance from the couch and watched expectantly the interaction between the siblings.

"What?" Jack asked confused, giving Jennifer an odd look.

Jennifer didn't look too impressed with the answer. "Well, is it serious?"

Hannah tilted her head slightly to the right as if she believed that she would understand the conversation better from a different angle.

"No, nothing is going on. So it's definitely not serious." Her father answered in a defensive tone.

"Hannah seems to like her, she can't stop talking about her." The brunette said, almost rolling her eyes.

Were they talking about Kate? Hannah asked herself, glancing back at the doorway, hoping that Kate would reappear soon. Dad and Aunt Jennifer weren't as fun to listen to as she had hoped. And did they have to talk about her as if she wasn't in the room…

"So? Hannah likes pretty much all the people she meets…" Jack simply responded, not giving much room for further arguments.

"Alright, you win." Jennifer said with a sigh as she leaned over and placed a kiss on her brother's cheek. "Well, I'm gonna go home."

Hannah hurried over to her aunt and gave her a hug. "Are you coming back soon?"

Jennifer grinned down at her and nodded slightly. "Yeah, of course I will. I'll be here on Friday"

"Is that soon?" Hannah questioned, trying to get the days straight in her head. When it wasn't 'today' or 'tomorrow' it was usually not very soon.

"Friday's soon" Jennifer confirmed with a smile, before she said goodbye and left the house.

"Do you know what day Friday is?" Jack asked just as the sound of the front door closing was heard.

Hannah glanced back at her father with a perplexed look. What a stupid question… "Friday is Friday of course!" Hannah said with snort.

"It's your birthday" Jack clarified with a smile.

The little girl's face lit up by the very thought of that. Birthdays were the best, ever! Cake, presents, friends, games and so on. Just lots of great things, all day long.

Her eyes had subconsciously traveled back to the mysterious box Jack had placed on the coffee table. Taking a few steps closer, Hannah tried to peak into it and see what it contained.

"Can I see?" She finally asked hesitatively. She knew it wasn't very well mannered to be nosey, but she thought she might explode from curiosity any second.

"You have to ask Kate. It's her things" Jack answered truthfully just as Kate walked back into the room.

Hannah at once turned to the other adult with a sweet and innocent look on her face. "Kate, can I see? Pleeease"

"Uh... What?" Kate asked confused, looking over at Jack.

Jack let out a chuckle as he replied. "She wants to look in the box"

"Oh, well I haven't looked through it all yet myself. We can look together if you want?" The brunette suggested, walking over to the couch and sitting down next to Jack.

The child squealed and ran over to the couch as well and squeezed herself down in between the adults, placing the stuffed polar bear in her lap.

Hannah watched as Jack pushed the box over the table, passed her and over to Kate's side.

Watching expectantly as Kate leaned forward and took out a pile of papers, Hannah wiggled her legs back and forth trying to distract her curiosity.

After flipping through half of the pile, Kate passed the papers on to Hannah, who barely got a chance to glance down at her hand before Jack took the pile from her. She didn't really care though, boring papers didn't interest her at all.

When Kate took out a small toy plane for the box, Hannah started paying more attention. Toys! Now we're talking. Kate soon passed the plane over to her and Hannah inspected it closely. Turning it upside down, Hannah put the plane closer to her face in an attempt to see every little scratch on it. Turning it around again, she let her fingertips glide over each wing and then back again.

When she finally was satisfied that she now knew every millimeter of the item she handed it over to her father. Turning to Kate, hoping that she would get something new to inspect she saw that the brunette was looking at pictures. Letting out a small squeal, Hannah moved closer to Kate and watched curiously as she flipped between the pictures.

Family pictures. Boring. A few photographs later a dog was portrayed making Hannah slightly more interested again. Kate took unbelievably long between changing photo though, which made the boring pictures even more boring.

Kate suddenly looked up from the pile of photos and over at Jack with a pale expression on her face. "This photo is new."

Hannah peaked curiously at the picture, portraying a little girl with brown wavy hair and an adorable yellow dress, as the adults passed the photo between them over her lap.

"It says 2006 on the back" Kate said with a strained voice.

Watching curiously as her father flipped the photo over, Hannah tried to understand what was so special about the picture. Why did it matter so much if it was new or not?

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r&r 


	24. Chapter 24

new chapter for you guys :)

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**Chapter Twenty-Four**

"Hannah, Sweetie, why don't you go to your room and play for a while" Jack said with a soft but still firm voice, letting her know that it wasn't a proposition but more of an order.

Giving her father an unimpressed look, Hannah turned and looked at Kate. Jack got the feeling she was about to try to and play them against each other, much like she had with him and Sarah, running to the other parent asking the same thing when the first had already said no. To his surprise the pleading never came, instead Hannah placed the white polar bear in Kate's lap and with a worried look on her small face she walked out of the room without a word.

Kate glanced down at the stuffed animal with a grateful look before placing it on the coffee table. Jack felt the couch shift slightly as the brunette moved closer to him to be able to see the photo of the little girl in the yellow dress that he was still holding.

"I guess its not you after all." Jack said quietly, looking back down at the photo, very aware of the woman's shoulder brushing against his own.

Unsure what else to say, Jack waited patently for Kate to react to the situation. He wasn't sure she was even considering the only thing that was running through his mind. This little girl in that photograph was her daughter. He didn't of course know this for sure, but from the look of this picture, this girl just had to be Kate as a child. If not, only option he could think of was that she was her daughter or maybe a niece with a remarkable resemblance to her aunt.

Jack cautiously glanced up at Kate who looked like she was holding her breath with a pale expression on her face. He could feel her shift nervously on the couch, playing slightly with a curl of her hair.

"Kate?" Jack tried carefully, as he placed a comforting hand on her arm.

"Do you think she's my daughter?" Kate asked bluntly, apparently not bothering to tiptoe around the issue any longer than needed.

Jack opened his mouth to answered, but changed his mind and closed his mouth just as fast. Giving her a sympathetic look, he let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know Kate. I would say it does look like it, but it doesn't mean that she is for sure. She could be related to you in some other way, she doesn't necessary have to be your daughter."

He could see her staring down at the photo from the corner of his eyes. Letting his gaze follow hers his eyes ended up on the picture once more as well. Either way the little girl was definitely beautiful. From the photo he would guess that she was something between two and three years old. She definitely had Kate's eyes, as well as her beautiful hair.

Smiling to himself he glanced over at Kate to determine how she was thinking all of this. Seeing that she was no longer looking at the photo he was holding but instead staring directly down at another one in her own hand, Jack shifted slightly to see what she was looking at.

He had seen the photo before, back at her place. It was the family picture with the unknown adults and the three children. Placing a hand on Kate's knee, she reluctantly drew her gaze away from the photo and met his curious eyes.

Slanting the picture slightly so he could see it better, Kate rapidly inhaled before she spoke with a slightly trembling voice. "Isn't this her as well?"

Inspecting the parents in the picture, then the children, Jack at first wasn't sure what she had meant. His eyes then lingered on the younger of the two girls. Noticing the resemblance to the brown-haired girl in the other picture, Jack narrowed his eyes and snatched the photo from Kate's hand, studying it closer, holding the two photos right next to each other.

She was right. It was the same girl. Why didn't he notice that earlier? All though the children in some family photo hadn't really been the priority to inspect at Kate's place.

Flipping the photo over, Jack read the small notation written at the bottom. 'Julie, Adam, Emily, Evania and Samuel.' Flipping the piece of paper back, Jack comprehended that the little girl had to be Evania.

"Her name's Evania." He said quietly, handing the picture back over to Kate.

"Who are those other people?" Kate asked, nervously fingering on another photo with the same five people in it.

Jack got the photo of just the three children and started inspecting them one by one. First the miniature version of Kate, now dressed in a pink dress. His eyes then moved to the other girl. Maybe a year older than Hannah, dressed in a pink dress as well.

The little girls didn't look anything alike, even dressed in the same outfits, Jack thought to himself as he studied the obvious differences. The little one with her beautiful curly hair like Kate and then the older girl with her straight blonde hair, placed up in two pigtails. They both looked like they were giggling, eyes wide, but at the same time like they were trying to keep straight faces for the camera.

Jack smiled to himself as he let his eyes travel to the little boy, maybe just a year old, sitting in the older girl's lap. He looked nothing like the blonde girl either, but surprisingly similar to the mini version of Kate. He had wavy brown hair and green eyes that was staring directly into the camera.

Flipping the photo over Jack learned that the little boy's name was Samuel and the older girl's name would be Emily.

"Do you think we could find these people?" Kate suddenly said, breaking the silence.

Jack sighed placing the pictures down on the table. "I don't know. I have a feeling we should try to stay clear from the police and without their help it can be tricky to find people we know nothing about."

A guilty expression appeared on Kate's face as she rose from the couch. When she had stared into the fireplace for a couple of minutes, Jack realized that she was not planning on turning around and facing him anytime soon.

Getting up from the couch himself, Jack placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him. "Kate…"

He could see tearstains down her cheeks as well as a pair of watery green eyes that refused to meet his brown ones.

"Please stop calling me that. Every time you say that name… it just reminds me that I've been lying to you" Kate said with a sob, turning her attention down to her feet.

Wanting to tell her that calling her anything else, reminded him of the fact that she had been lying, Jack just nodded absently as a respond instead of saying something to upset her further.

Considering folding his arms around her, Jack took a small step closer, waiting for her to make any kind of sign that she wanted the comfort. Feeling her lean against him, Jack at once drew her closer, placing his arms around her, stroking her back gently.

"I don't know what to think or feel about anything anymore…" Kate mumbled against him with a defeated tone in her voice.

Whispering words of comfort in her ear, Jack took a few steps back, bringing the young woman with him in his arms. Reaching the couch, he drew her down to sit on his lap.

Feeling her body tense at the sudden closeness, Jack eased his grip around her slightly. "What are you doing?" Kate's breathless words tickled his ear as he felt her place both her hands on his chest to distance her body from his.

Placing one of his hands on her cheek, Jack gently let his fingers slide over it and into her hair. "Everything will be alright. No matter what it is that has happened in your life or who these people in the pictures are, I'll be there for you and you don't have to face any of it alone. I promise Kate." Frowning, Jack sighed and exhaled loudly. "I mean… Elizabeth…"

Kate lifted her head slightly, enough for her eyes to meet his. A small smile appeared on her lips as a single tear made it down her cheek. "On second thoughts I think I like it better when you call me Kate. It just feels a lot more familiar." Kate divulged in a small voice, moving her face dangerously close to his, nibbling slightly on her lower lip.

Feeling Kate's breath on his lips, Jack closed his eyes as he felt Kate shift her body so that she was straddling his lap. He's eyes snapped open in an instant as Kate's fingernails slid down his chest.

The nervous frightened and insecure girl he had seen right before he had closed his eyes were no where to be seen. When he looked into the green eyes that were gazing at him, he was instead met by curiosity and what he could only identify as lust.

"What are 'you' doing?" Jack yelped as Kate pressed herself closer against him.

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Jack noted how she was studying him closely. "Well… there is something I've been thinking about over and over in my head and I thought that I would finally just get it straightened out."

Jack couldn't be more confused. What the hell was going on? Get what straightened out? This woman was so damn confusing he had no idea what to do even less idea what to say.

Getting a hold of Kate's hands as they traveled down his front, Jack felt himself regaining a little control over the situation. "Kate? Seriously, what are you doing?"

He could see the nervousness reappearing on her face the second he had caught her hands. Was she trying to drive him insane or what was the goal of this stunt?

Not getting a chance to consider any other possible goals from her side, Jack felt Kate's soft lips crash against his. Melting against her, Jack let go her hands and brought is own hands up to cup her face, bringing if possible her closer to him.

Jack lost complete contact with the real world as he felt Kate's tongue slide over his teeth. Opening his mouth to deepen the kiss, Jack gently let his hands travel down to her back and brought her with him as he leaned down properly on the couch.

Starting to trace kisses down her neck, Jack noticed that Kate's fingers had found their way to the buttons on his shirt. Getting a strong deja vu-feeling, Jack reluctantly stopped her as she was about to undo the third button.

Just as he was about to tell her to stop, Kate cut him off with a kiss, followed by a soft mumble against his lips sounding like 'Don't talk.'

Once more feeling completely lost in their kisses, Jack felt the little willpower he had left disappearing and everything else he was feeling taking over.

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please leave a little review :) 


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

Letting out a moan, Kate eased into the touch of Jack's hand on her cheek. Feeling his warm lips up on hers was starting to drive her insane. Realizing that she was pinned underneath his body, Kate felt even more confused than before. When had he flipped them over? Wasn't she on top just seconds ago? Was he really having such an impact on her that she didn't even recollect what he was doing to her?

She had planned on asking Jack about what kind of relationship they really had. If they were more than friends since there were a lot of things hinting towards that. A major one being his daughter thinking that they were getting married and being worried that Kate was taking her mother's place.

Okay, so she had planned on playing it a little dirty and really putting him against the wall with getting inappropriately close, seeing how he would react.

Either way, THIS was not what had been her intention. It did kind of answer her question though. There was no way that they hadn't done this before. It was as if they had never done anything else. Jack somehow just knew exactly how to touch her to drive her whole body completely insane and the way they kissed and mirrored each others movement like they could read the others thoughts. No, the answer was simple. They had done this countless of times.

That had to make this more okay. If they had been doing this before she lost her memory it couldn't make much of a difference, right?

Kate felt Jack's hands on the hem of her T-Shirt as he pulled back slightly to be able to pull it over her head. Breaking off their kiss to do just that, they both froze to their spots as they heard Hannah's soft voice calling out for her father from the corridor.

Watching how Jack got up into a standing position in an instant, Kate tried her best to catch her breath while Jack smoothly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand just as the four year old appeared in the doorway carrying a stuffed toad.

"Daddy, are we having dinner soon?" Hannah asked expectantly as she glanced over at Kate who was still half lying on the couch.

Get up you idiot! Kate's mind screamed in her head. Biting her lip nervously, Kate sat up straight on the couch and smiled dumbly at the little girl who gave her a suspicious look.

"Sure Sweety, how about pizza?" Jack asked, bringing Hannah's attention back to him.

The child nodded excitedly, apparently very much for the idea of eating pizza.

"Alright, I'll order some in for us then" Jack said distractedly as he wandered off to the kitchen.

Hannah had seated herself next to Kate on the couch. Kate noticed that the little girl was still looking slightly suspiciously on her. She had obviously picked up on the tension that had been in the room when she walked in.

She hadn't actually walked in and seen them on the couch, had she? Kate hoped not. She loved the fact that she was getting along with Hannah and the fact the little girl trusted her. It would probably not help her if she was caught making out with the child's father.

"Did dad help you feel better?" Hannah suddenly asked in a quiet but still very curious voice.

Kate gave the girl a confused look. "What?"

"You seemed upset about something and then dad sent me to my room…" She wasn't sounding too impressed with the fact that she had been asked to leave, now obviously wanting to know what had happened while she was gone.

"Uhm, yeah, he helped me feel better" Kate answered, feeling her cheeks grow warmer. She hated the fact that the little girl for sure knew more about her than she did herself. Wishing that they had actually told Hannah that she didn't remember anything, Kate nervously started playing with the hem of her T-shirt.

Hannah gave Kate a weak smile, as to show her that she wasn't mad about getting sent away. "He's good at making people feel better. You know, he is a doctor. That's what doctors do." Hannah explained logically, as if Kate had no idea at all that Jack was a doctor.

Jack reappeared in the room, his shirt now fully buttoned. Standing in the doorway, he glanced anxiously between the young brunette and his daughter. Looking like he would cut off his own arm to know what they had been talking about while he was in the kitchen ordering pizza.

Coughing nervously to get the girls attention, Jack smiled sheepishly as they looked up at him. "How about we watch a movie while we eat? Hannah can't you pick a good pizza-movie?" Jack proposed in a goofy tone, making his daughter giggle faintly as she jumped down from the couch and ran off to her room.

Kate got up slowly from the couch and started to collect all the items spread out on the table back into her shoebox. Feeling Jack's arms wrap around her from behind made her stop and turn around in an instant.

Before he had a chance to say something, Hannah was running back into the room and threw herself on the floor in front of the DVD-player. Slipping out of Jack's embrace, Kate continued to gather her few personal belongings and then placing the box on the floor.

They had started watching the movie, while they waited for the pizza. Hannah was still sitting on the ground, right in front of the TV, while Kate and Jack were sitting on the couch, both leaning slightly towards the other. Kate was about to smoothly place her head down on Jack's shoulder just as the doorbell rang. Kate offered to get the pizzas but Jack had gently pushed her back down on the couch, saying that he'll get it.

Surprised to find that Jack had actually ordered her a vegetarian pizza, Kate smirked at Jack as she opened her pizza box.

"What? You're going to stop being a vegetarian just because you don't actually remember being one?" Jack asked, with a fake shocked expression on his face.

Giving him an unimpressed look, Kate grabbed a slice of his pizza and moved a couple of feet away from him on the couch so that he couldn't reach her.

"Oh I'm so gonna get you later" Jack warned her with a goofy smile on his face.

Hannah had crawled up to the couch when the pizza had been delivered and was sitting next to Jack, waiting patently for him to place a slice of pizza on her plate. When he didn't do this as fast has she might have wish, she let out a frustrated sound followed by 'Daaaad'.

"Okay, okay, I'm on it" Jack said defensively as he handed the plate over to the child who at once turned her attention back to the movie.

An hour into the movie Kate glanced over at Hannah when she heard a cute muffled sound escaping the child's lips. Smiling to herself, Kate watched the little girl sleep for a few minutes when she suddenly felt Jack's eyes on her. Blushing slightly, she looked up to meet his warm loving eyes.

Watching as Jack turned to Hannah and gently stroking her cheek, Kate smiled to herself.

"Bed time Princess" Jack whispered into the little girl's ear as he lifted her off the couch.

Kate gathered the plates and pizza cartons from the coffee table and brought them out to the kitchen before walking down to Hannah's room to check how tucking her in was going for Jack.

Standing in the door way, Kate watched how Jack placed the covers tightly around his daughter before sitting down on the edge of the bed with a storybook in his hands.

Unsure what she had done to get noticed, Jack suddenly waved her over, indicating for her to come sit next to him. Hesitating at first, Kate finally walked over slowly and sat down on the edge as well. Kate could feel the bed shift slightly as Hannah wriggled her small body out from under the covers and crawled over to the adults. Seating herself between them, Hannah leaned against Kate as she let out a yawn.

Kate smiled down at the child as Jack started reading in the book. A few pages into the story Kate noticed that Hannah had closed her eyes, her breathing now steady. Feeling herself grew tired as well, Kate let out a small yawn making Jack stop reading at once.

"Tired?" Jack asked with a smile as he carefully pealed the child off of Kate and back properly on the bed. Placing a soft kiss on Hannah's forehead, Jack rose from the bed and held out a hand to Kate.

Staring at the hand for a few seconds, Kate sheepishly took it, knowing that it probably be awkward the second she was on her feet. Should she let go of the hand at once? Should she keep holding his hand? In that case, for how long?

Oh my God. Am I over thinking this or what? It's just a helping hand to get up for the bed! Try to relax a little Kate! She thought to herself as she felt Jack let go of her hand as he took a step away from her, turning off Hannah's bedside lamp.

Walking side by side to the door, Kate felt like her whole body was tickling. It felt so strange tucking in a child together with someone, but at the same time it felt so right. It somehow made her life seem so much more real. She didn't have much to hang onto since she didn't remember anything. But a life with Jack and Hannah felt like something she could hang on to. Something she could start building new memories around. Something she could rely on no matter what.

Feeling Jack's hand on the small of her back, Kate closed her eyes briefly as she let him guide her out of the room and into the corridor. Jack had placed his other hand on her side now completely steering her as he walked right behind her. Realizing they were going in the opposite direction of the living room, Kate opened her eyes in confusion just as Jack reached past her and opened the door to his bedroom. Gently leading her inside, he closed the door behind them.

Turning around to face him, Kate could feel herself growing nervous as Jack continued to navigate her body, now making her stumble backwards until her legs was stopped by the bed. "Jack…" She managed to get out just as Jack's hands on her sides pushed her down to sit on the edge of the bed.

Jack kneeled down in front of her, placing his hands on her legs, steadying himself.

She could tell that he was suddenly nervous, his eyes clearly not meeting hers. Waiting patently for Jack to say or do something, Kate placed her hands on top of his.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have let it go that far. And I'm sorry about pushing you away when Hannah entered."

"It's okay. I understand."

"I know it must be confusing for you. I just don't think it's a good idea for us to start something as long as you don't have your memory of the past."

"So there is a past?"

She could see Jack shifting uncomfortable, as he wiped a little sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. "Kinda, maybe. I don't know, Not really a past… as much as an incident.

An incident? What exactly did that mean? Kate thought to herself. But instead of asking she thought of a complete different scenario. "What if I never remember?"

The question seemed to hit Jack hard. He closed his eyes as if he was trying to find the answer deep inside himself. Letting out a deep sigh, Jack leaned up and placed a soft peck on her lips. Resting his forehead against hers, he sighed again. "I don't know…"

Nibbling nervously on her lower lip, Kate squeezed Jack's hands softly making him open his eyes to look at her. "Can I stay here tonight?"

Leaning back, breaking their contact, Jack gave her a surprised look. "In here?"

Regretting that she'd asked, Kate's eyes started darting around the room looking at anything but him as she stuttered on her words. "Hm, I mean just to sleep in here… if that's alright with you, otherwise-"

Jack cut her off with a tender kiss, placing his hands on her face, bring her closer to him, giving her a clear answer without saying another word.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Kate woke up with a nice feeling of security as she felt Jack's strong arms wrapped around her smaller body.

Shifting over to her other side so that she was able to see the man she was sleeping next to, Kate realized that she was still wearing her jeans from last night. Letting out a muffled yawn, she placed her hands on Jack's chest and tilted her head up slightly so that she was able to see into his eyes.

"Good morning" Jack whispered to her in a husk voice, drawing her even closer.

"Morning" Kate greeted back as she leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips, lingering there a lot longer than she had planned.

"I thought that we could maybe go shopping today. It's Hannah's birthday tomorrow." Jack explained with a not all too excited look on his face.

"Oh, I didn't know that. Is there going to be a party?" Kate asked sounding slightly nervous. She wasn't even sure why. Why would it bother her if Jack had invited a few people over to celebrate his daughter's birthday?

"Yeah, but it's just going to be family." Jack said reassuringly, apparently picking up on Kate's tensed tone.

Just family? Did that mean that they didn't want her to be there for the party? Kate thought worriedly. Well maybe it was time for her to leave anyway. She hadn't really expected to stay at Jack's house forever. She did have some place to go now. Her own home. Even if it was more of a moldy dump, it was still where she belonged.

"Don't worry they'll like you, I promise." Jack whispered softly to her, stroking her arm gently.

Kate smiled at him, thankful that he made it clear that he wanted her to stay and meet his family, maybe even more thankful that he hadn't realized that she had doubted it.

A comfortable silence surrounded them. Guessing that Jack had fallen back to sleep, Kate lazily fingered on one of the buttons on his shirt. It felt odd lying fully dressed in a bed, a covered wrapped around them making it look like they were shielding themselves from the cool air in the room. 

Taking a deep breath inhaling the very distinct scent of Jack Shepard, Kate snuggled closer to his warm body, wrapping her arms around his torso. Kate felt Jack's hands drawing gentle circles on her back, indicating that he was indeed awake and not asleep as she had guessed.

Pulling herself up into a half sitting position, resting her upper bodyweight on her elbows, Kate smiled at the handsome man next to her.

"I thought you were sleeping." Kate divulged.

"I thought 'you' were sleeping" Jack said back mischievously. "How about breakfast in bed Beautiful?" Jack continued with a wink, seductively letting his hand travel up her side.

"Beautiful?" Kate asked back teasingly, trying her best not to blush at the new pet name.

Jack gently placed a string of Kate's brown hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her cheek a lot longer than necessary. "Well in your case, it's a very accurate nickname."

"You flatter all the girls you bring to bed like this?" Kate said jokingly, but paled the second she realized what she had said.

Jack just chuckled and placed a kiss on her forehead.

Smiling, Kate let out a sighed mixed of relief and contentment. "Can I ask you something?"

Jack's expression at once grew serious as he heard the tone in her voice. "Sure"

"Have I been here before?" Kate trailed off, trying not to sound too nervous. Playing a little with one of the corners of the cover, Kate glanced up at Jack, waiting patently for him to answer.

Giving her a solemn look, Jack tilted his head slightly. "Here as in…?"

"Your bed" Kate filled in at once, blushing but still managing to look slightly nonchalant. Like it didn't really matter what he answer, or if he even answered at all.

Jack looked like he was battling back and forth in his head what to answer her. "Yea, you have." He finally answered with a slightly guilty look on his face.

Biting on her lip, Kate nodded understandingly. She had guessed that already but having Jack actually admitting it made it a lot more real.

He did get that she wondered if they had had sex, right? Not if she had spent the night like this, just sleeping in his arms. He must have, he wasn't stupid.

Should she feel cheap that she had actually slept with him? Considering that he didn't even know her last name, or anything else about her for that matter. It did seem like they had some kind of close friendship thing going on. Maybe it wasn't as much Jack not knowing her as her not telling Jack anything about her past.

It all comes back to her past didn't it? Closing her eyes, Kate pictured her passport in front of her eyes, or well 'Elizabeth Ryan's' passport.

Maybe she had lost her memory as 'Elizabeth', believed that she was this Kate person and then lost her memory again? Letting out a suppressed snort, Kate tried to forget about it all together for now.

Hannah suddenly appeared out of no where in the doorway with a stuffed animal sheep in her arms, a blank expression on her face.

"Good morning Princess." Jack greeted her casually as he sat up more properly on the bed.

"Kate wasn't in her room so I just wanted to ask you if you knew where she was…" Hannah trailed off, looking directly at the brunette instead of her father who she was after all talking to.

"Well, Kate actually slept in here Princess, so naturally she wasn't in the guest room." Jack answered logically, sounding unusually calm. 

Kate could see that Hannah didn't know what to reply back to that, instead she just hugged her stuffed sheep closer.

Was she Upset? Disappointed? Angry? Kate held her breath waiting for the child to show any sign of emotion. When it didn't come, Kate finally slipped out of Jack's arms and off the bed, kneeling in front of Hannah on the floor, now very thankful that she had fallen asleep fully clothed.

"Do I have to call you mommy?" Hannah suddenly asked, her voice trembling slightly, making the child almost stutter over the words. Her face wasn't as revealing as her voice though. She still had the blank emotionless expression on her face, as if she was waiting for something to happened, waiting for her own emotions to pour down over her.

Kate heard Jack let out a breath, almost laughing at the comment. He had gotten up from the bed as well, now standing right behind Kate. Stepping past the brunette, Jack drew the child into a hug, lifting her up in his arms. "No Princess, of course you don't have to."

Wrapping one arm around Hannah to steady her, Jack placed his other hand on Kate's back guiding her back to the bed. Placing the little girl down, Jack sat down next to her and drew the covers up around her, at the same time he indicated for Kate to sit down next to him.

Sitting down, Kate felt slightly awkward. Now what? Were they going to play happy family and pretend that there was nothing bothering either one of them?

Feeling Hannah snuggle closer to her, Kate at once let it go. If Hannah was okay, then why was she making a problem out of thin air?

"So you're not going to be my new mommy?" Hannah asked without look up to meet either one of the adults' eyes.

Kate glanced over at Jack, indicating to him that she really wanted him to answer that question and not leave it up to her to say something.

Getting the hint, Jack gave her a reassuring smile. "Well, Daddy and Miss Kate are very good friends and maybe someday in the future she'll be your new step-mommy. How does that sound?" Jack said calmly not breaking eye contact with Kate, as if it was her he was asking and not the four year old.

"I'd like that…" Hannah whispered back softly as she cuddled closer to her future stepmother who had a small bashful smile on her face.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

Jack watched Kate pour some more milk into her cereal, restlessly waiting for his two girls to finish breakfast. Unsure if they were unbelievably slow or if he had somehow managed to inhale his food. Jack leaned back in his chair, and started reading the news paper.

Hannah was struggling to find the toy that was promised on the cereal box, obviously not remembering that she had collected it just a few days ago.

"So Hannah, how would you like to spend the day at the mall?" Jack asked his daughter, already knowing that she would be thrilled about the idea. She had always loved to go to the mall or just the city in general.

The second the words had left his mouth, Kate had given him a warning look, as if he had said something bad.

"Love to!" Hannah squealed as she pushed the cereal box to the side.

"Alright!" Jack said back mirroring his daughter's excitement, making him sound very out of character. "Then why don't you go get ready" Jack added after he had noted that she had finished her breakfast. 

Hannah sprinted out of the room and down to her room, acting more eager than even Jack would have suspected.

"Jack" Kate said loudly, getting his attention. "I thought you were going to buy her a birthday present. You can't very well do that with her right there." She continued in a much more quite tone, making sure Hannah wouldn't be able to overhear them.

"I'm counting on you distracting her while I buy half the toy store and smuggle the gifts back to the car" Jack said jokingly giving her a wink.

Kate gave him an unimpressed and shocked look which soon turned into a smirk.

"I as actually think that maybe Jennifer could tag along. It could give us some time to get her some presents and Hannah would still be able to come with us." Jack explained truthfully. Not that the first suggestion had been that bad. He knew Kate would easily manage to look after Hannah for a few hours while he snuck off to the toy store. But the truth was that he wanted to spend the day with Kate at the mall, not have her baby-sit while he spent it alone.

"Oh, okay that sounds great" Kate answered with a small smile.

He could hear that she wasn't all that keen on the idea of having Jennifer with them. They had maybe not gotten off on the best foot when they met for the first time, but maybe a day at the mall could change that.

"Well I'm gonna call Jen, why don't you go get ready." Jack suggested, as he leaned closer and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

Pacing down the corridor to his study, Jack popped his head into Hannah's room, checking that she was getting dressed and not playing. Satisfied that she was indeed getting ready, he disappeared into his office. Grabbing the phone, he lazily seated himself in his desk chair and dialled his little sister's number.

Hearing a very tired voice answering the phone with a simple "Hi", Jack smirked to himself, knowing that he had woken up his baby sister.

"Hey Jelly. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come with us to the mall today" Jack asked in an annoyingly cheerful tone, knowing very well that it would bug the newly woken girl.

"Oh God Jack, please stop calling me that!" Jennifer snapped back at him.

Rolling his eyes even if he knew she couldn't see him, Jack chuckled into the phone.

"So you and Hannah are going to the mall?" Jennifer wondered, ignoring her older brother's bantering laugher.

"Yes, and Kate." Jack added, not sounding as cocky as he had before. Now that Kate and he had taken on a more serious turn in their relationship he was really wishing for the two of them to get along, knowing the problems it had caused between him and Jennifer when he had married Sarah. A woman Jennifer had despised since the first time they'd met.

"Oooh" Jennifer almost squealed teasingly into the other end of the phone.

"Are you coming or not?" Jack asked impatiently, trying his best to ignore her.

Jennifer at once sobered up. "Yeah just give me an hour and I'll be there."

"Ok great. See you soon." Jack said before he hung up the phone. Taking out his address book, Jack took a deep breath and dialled a new number.

"Davis" A husky male voice answered, sounding awfully unfocused.

"Mitch, its Jack Shepard. I need your help." Jack said slowly, in a way already regretting what he was doing.

Why had he called Mitch Davis? Just the name was trouble. Unsure how he even had gotten to know this guy in the beginning, Jack started explaining vaguely what he needed, not wanting to give away too much information about Kate.

"There is this girl I know, she's trying to locate some people. Unfortunately we only have their first names and a photo. You think you could do it?"

"Of course I can. Question is when you want it and what you're paying" Mitch said back sounding slightly edgy.

"If you can get it in a few days, I'll pay double what you normally take." Jack said confidently, hoping that he actually had a shot at getting information through Mitch and that he wasn't throwing his money away.

"Jack, honestly, a picture and first names. It's not as if I can look that up in the phone book." The man said, sounding distressed.

Getting slightly irritated, Jack buried his face in his palm. "If you could have looked it up in the phone book, then why the hell would I call you?"

When Mitch hadn't said anything for a while, Jack started to think that he might have hung up. But the silence was once more broken.  
"Well I'll give it a try." The husky voice finally announced to Jack's relief.

"Alright, thanks Mitch." Jack said and promised to fax over the picture before he hung up the phone.

After faxing the photo, Jack made his way down to the bathroom, and took a refreshing shower. Taking his time getting ready he walked into to the living room half an hour later, finding both Kate and Hannah on the couch. Both girls sitting Indian style, facing each other like they were best friends sharing secrets.

Watching as his daughter showed Kate several miniature stuffed animals that she had gotten from her grandmother, Jack smiled to himself. Hannah was shoving a new animal into Kate's hands before she had a chance to even note what kind of animal it was.

Clearing his throat to make his presence known, Jack paced over to the couch and sat down in front of them on the coffee table.

"Wait I have more!" Hannah suddenly exclaimed as she jumped down from the couch and disappeared through the door.

Kate sat down properly on the couch, glaring at the small brown toy animal in her hand. "I don't even know what this is" She said laughing handing the unidentified animal over to Jack.

Turning it up side down and looking more closely at it, Jack finally gave her a smug look. "It's an otter" He finally said, with a very confident tone.

"Really?" Kate said glancing at the toy once more. "I would never have guessed that."

Jack let out a chuckle as he handed it back to her, showing her the small tag that read 'Otter'.

She hit him playfully on the arm just as the doorbell was heard through out the house.

"Auntie Jennifer!" Jack heard Hannah exclaimed as she flew down the corridor to the front door.

Giving Kate an amused look, he rose to his feet and offered her a hand to get up. Leading her out to the hallway, Jack still held her small hand in his. Jack greeted his sister with a quick nod as the young woman with a smile tried to peal her niece off of her.

"Hi Kate, it's nice to meet you again." Jennifer said politely reaching to shake the brunette's hand.

Jack felt Kate letting go of his hand to greet his sister. "Likewise" Kate said courteously smiling at Jennifer.

"Well let's get going" Jack said after a few minutes, feeling that it was getting slightly uncomfortable standing in the hallway with both Jen and Kate looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

The ride downtown was all together filled with Hannah's talking. Carefully and thoroughly explaining the plot of the movie they had seen the night before. Apparently not remembering that both Jack and Kate had been there seeing it with her, since she was including them in the conversation just as much as her aunt who was sitting next to her in the back seat.

Satisfied that all the grown ups did understand the whole concept of the film just as well as all the characters' names, Hannah moved on to talking about birthday wishes, mostly including different kinds of stuffed animals she wanted.

The second Jack parked the car, Hannah impatiently started fighting with her seatbelt until Jennifer helped her get free and out of the car.

As they walk across the parking lot Jack heard the sound of his familiar cell phone jingle. Jack got his cell out of his pocket and slowed down his pace to get a little distance between him and the three girls.

"Shepard"

"Jack, its Mitch. Do you at least know where these people live or where they are from?" Mitch Davis' husky voice asked on the other end of the phone.

Jack sighed, sounding defeated. Maybe this was going to be a lot harder than he had thought. "No… sorry I don't."

"Cause you know it will take a lot of time if they don't live here in LA. Even longer with they don't even live in California."

"Uhm Mitch. I'm not one hundred percent that they live in the States." Jack said reluctantly, not really wanting to distress the man even further.

"Jesus Jack! Gimme a break here." You want me to find two people that could be anywhere in the goddamn world with just two first names as a lead. "Do you know anything at all about them that could help me? Are they at least married?"

"I think so. I don't know for sure though." Jack said truthfully, noticing that Jennifer, Kate and Hannah had stopped and was now waiting for him to catch up. Stopping as well, to not get too close, he help up a hand to tell them that he was going to be a minute.

"Anyways I did find several Julie and Adams here in the Los Angeles area. Neither pair matching with the three children."

"Oh ok. Could you maybe check if any of the kids match? We're suspecting that maybe all three of those kids aren't theirs." Jack said quietly, feeling very watched by the girls.

"Alright." Mitch simple confirmed.

"And another thing" Jack continued hesitantly. "Could you see what you can find on an 'Elizabeth Ryan'. Probably newly disappeared, missing or presumed dead, stuff like that."

"Sure, I can do that too. I'll be in touch" Mitch's words were followed by a click and then just silence. 

Putting the phone back in his pocket, Jack hurried over to the girls and was met by a very unimpressed look from his sister.

"That better not have been the hospital" Jennifer said with a warning tone.

"It wasn't" Jack answered simply, giving her a weak smile as they walked up to the entrance.

Hannah squealed excited as they entered the mall, and started walking as fast as her short legs would let her, completely forgetting about the three adults behind her.


	28. Chapter 28

_guys.. seriously.. im having about 500 people reading each new chapter and like 5 reviewing them..._

_if you actually read and like it please do leave a lil comment so that i know if you want me to continue or not..._

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

Hannah felt a familiar large hand grab hers, holding her back from running off. Glaring up at her father, Hannah let out a loud sigh.

Oh my God. For having such long legs the grown ups sure did walk slowly, Hannah thought to herself as the four of them were walking around randomly for a while.

"Wait…" Jennifer said for a thousand times, as she stopped and ogled yet another shop window.

Hannah giggled quietly when she heard Jack sigh as he turned around and glared at his sister. Thinking it was really nice to look at the display windows herself, Hannah definitely understood her aunt who loved window shopping. Jack on the other hand had absolutely no understanding for it.

Glancing over at Kate, Hannah tried to read Kate's opinion no the matter. Not sure what the woman was thinking, Hannah decided that she probably liked looking at shop windows as well.

Letting go of Jack's hand, Hannah went over to Jennifer and put her small hands on the window, letting her eyes travel over every single item displayed there.

After a few minutes she felt her dad once more take her hand and snubbing something to Jennifer as they all started walking again.

This is ridiculous, Hannah thought after a while. They were still walking around randomly in the stupid mall, never getting to any of the good stores. Wondering if they were even aware of what they were doing, Hannah glared up at Jack who was too busy talking to Kate to even notice.

Oh great. Now he didn't even remember that she was there. No wonder they never got to the toy stores.

Once more trying to drag her father along, Hannah pulled on his arm and tried to walk faster, without much luck.

Getting really frustrated Hannah pulled with a little more force on Jack's arm. "Daddy!"

Jack at once glanced down at her with an unhappy look on his face. "Hannah, calm down. If you can't behave you can wait in the car." Her father said warningly.

Hannah was quite sure that he wouldn't put her in the car, while the rest of them explored the mall. But to be on the safe side she nodded understandingly and followed the adults without complains as they strolled around the shopping center.

Aunt Jennifer had snuck off to an interior design store and promised to meet up with them in an hour later at something with a complicated name. Hannah had given Jack and Kate a concerned look when Jennifer had suggested their meeting point, worried that they wouldn't remember it or wouldn't be able to find it.

Hannah's face lit up as they finally reached the toy store. Trying to wiggle her hand out of Jack's tight grip, Hannah sighed frustrated, wanting to run off to the stuffed animal section.

Thankful that she for once was the one leading the way, Hannah hurriedly crossed through the store to get to the best part.

Finally getting there, Jack let go of her hand and Hannah flew to the shelves filled with all kinds of stuffed toys.

Fingering on all the animals, Hannah bit her lip to control her excitement. With eyes wide, the four year old started sorting through the toys in her head. Potential gifts, cute animals but still not on the priority list, ugly animals and stuffed toys that weren't animals. She definitely didn't like those. They didn't have to be real animals, they could be made up or magical but they couldn't be like a boat or something. So stupid to make a boat shaped animal, Hannah thought to herself, trying to figure out who decided on what kind of stuffed animals to make.

Hannah glanced over at Jack and Kate to make sure they didn't wander off without her. It was typical for adults to disappear when you were in a crowded place and she knew it was important to know where they were at all times. She knew it was supposed to be the other way around but grown ups were so stressed and hectic all the time, always forgetting things.

Her friend Samantha from pre-school had lost her family once in the mall and it had taken forever for her to find them again. She had to sit with the security guards in a small room with no toys and wait and wait until they had located her mom and two brothers.

Noticing that her dad was holding both of Kate's hands, stand very close together, Hannah smirked to herself. Typical, they had no supervision over her at all. She didn't mind though, if they were busying doing... what ever it was they were doing, just meant that they wouldn't start nagging about leaving anytime soon.

Turning her attention back to the shelves, Hannah continued to organize the stuffed animals in her head.

Finally satisfied that she had seen, touched and inspected every single one of the stuffed animals in the store, Hannah wandered around a bit and looked briefly at the other toys.

Glancing over at the two adults holding hands walking behind her a little now and then, Hannah got curious as she saw that they kept whispering back and forth to each other. Were they talking about her birthday presents? Realizing that it was very possible that they were walking around trying to pick out her gifts, Hannah at once guided them back to the stuffed animal section.

"Hannah seriously, not the stuffed animals again…" Jack said with a jaded voice.

Hannah gave Jack a heartbroken look. "But… I like the stuffed animals."

Why didn't they want to look around in this section? Maybe they weren't planning on buying any stuffed toys, Hannah thought worriedly to herself, as she bit on her lower lip.

"Princess, maybe it's time to leave? We have to meet Jennifer soon." Jack explained as he and Kate smoothly started to move towards the checkout.

They weren't carrying any toys, Hannah thought panicked to herself. Weren't they going to buy something? Maybe they already had…

Hoping that there was a mountain of gifts lying hidden somewhere at home, Hannah gave the stuffed animal shelves a last look before reluctantly following the adults with small but quick steps.


	29. Chapter 29

_thanks for the reviews :) glad that you guys still like it, new chappie for ya._

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Jack couldn't believe they had been in the toy store an hour. Time had seemed to just fly by. It's very possible that Kate had had something to do with that.

After meeting up with Jennifer, Kate and he had discretely snuck off by themselves as Jennifer had offered to bring Hannah to a café for ice-cream. Hannah hadn't seemed to mind at all and hadn't even noticed as her father and the brunette had disappeared.

Back at the toy store Jack had at once picked out an adorable pink bike for Hannah and had gotten one of the store attendants to transform it into a nicely wrapped present.

With that done, Jack strolled around the store looking for Kate. Finding her looking at children's books, Jack walked over and started browsing through the books as well.

"If you want to get something for Hannah from you, feel free to do so" Jack said softly, as he gave Kate an understanding look.

He was pretty sure that Kate didn't have particularly much money to spend and definitely none to spend on his daughter. He had a feeling she wouldn't take his money that easily though. Glancing over at Kate who looked like she was almost hugging one of the books, he wasn't as sure anymore.

"Thanks" Was all that she answered, giving him a thankful look. Placing the book back on the shelf, she wandered off down an isle fingering lightly over the toys on the shelves.

Strolling around a bit himself, Jack picked out a few movies as well as several cute items that would go well with the princess theme in Hannah's room.

Jack glanced over at Kate who was now standing in front of a shelf with baby toys. Smiling to himself he walked over with an amused look on his face.

"Should I be worried?" He said playfully, placing a hand on her back, looking down at the small baby- rattle she was holding.

Kate looked up at him with a confused look on her face. "What?"

Following his eyes down to the item in her hands, Kate apparently realized what he meant. "No, no... I was just…" Kate said, her cheeks turning cutely pink. Chuckling nervously, Kate suddenly got a serious look on her face. "Should you be worried?"

It was Jack's turn to look perplexed. "What? No." He said immediately, with a pale expression on his face.

She couldn't…. could she? No of course she couldn't be, Jack told himself logically in an attempt to calm himself down.

"Okay" Kate said sounding slightly unsure, as she placed the toy back on the shelf.

Turning to face him properly, Kate just stared into his eyes. As if she was looking for answers on questions she didn't have the guts to ask.

Taking her small hands in his, Jack squeezed them gently. "Kate, I really don't think you're pregnant."

"But… I could be?" Kate whispered in a small voice.

Technically she could be, Jack thought. She had left the hospital too early for any test revealing a pregnancy after their night together. How many days had it been? Jack started to count. Five days? Had it only been five days since they had sex?

Realizing that Kate's face had grown a lot more worried, Jack tried to focus on looking as calm as he could.

Why wasn't he calm? They had used protection and chances of her being pregnant should be as close to zero as they could get.

"Well since we did have sex, you could theoretically be pregnant, but I really really don't think you are." Jack said reassuringly, once again squeezing both her hands.

"Good." Kate finally said after a short silent pause, still looking just as anxious as before.

"If you want we can get a pregnancy test" Jack offered just to make her feel better. He definitely didn't like the fact that she looked completely devastated.

The proposition didn't seem to calm her down at all, if anything she looked even more terrified.

"It wouldn't show yet though…" Jack continued, feeling really edgy about saying anything else, since it only seemed to upset her even more.

Kate was nibbling on her lip, still looking anxious. "Oh. When would it show?"

"In a week or so. We could still get one and you can take it next week, if you want to…" Jack said starting to sound slightly apprehensive himself, even though he was trying his best to sound calm.

Kate looked like she was considering the option, her eyes darting around for a moment. "Yeah we could do that." She said quietly, giving Jack a worried look. "What do you think we should do?"

"I don't think you need to take a test, I honesty doubt that you are pregnant. But if you want to we'll get one"

"You know, we could just get one to be completely sure." Kate finally said, trying to sound a little nonchalant about it but not hiding her anxiousness very well.

Giving her a reassuring smile, Jack once more squeezed her hands. "Alright, then we will."

Giving him a thankful smile, Kate leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

Jack smiled back at her, as he let go of one of her hands. Turning back towards the shelf with baby items, Jack's smile turned into a playful grin. "Do you want to buy some potential baby gifts as well?"

"Jack!" Kate exclaimed playfully as she hit him lightly on the arm.

"So, no toys for little Amron then?" Jack said teasingly, leaning in for a kiss.

Kate stopped him by placing her hands on his chest pushing him away slightly. "Little who?"

"Amron, the baby" Jack said with a logical tone in his voice as he let his fingers trace teasingly over Kate's stomach.

Making a snort sound, Kate gave him a shocked look. "You're not naming any potential baby of ours to Amron"

"Aww" Jack placed a hand over his heart, a fake hurt look on his face. "Don't tell me you wanna name it Jack Junior, cause that's just so traditional."

Smirking at him, Kate walked off to the stuffed animal section where Hannah had been earlier that day.

Following her with a goofy look on his face, Jack noted that the brunette picked out a stuffed chipmunk with easy. It looked like she had decided on exactly which one to get earlier when they had been in there.

Deciding on a few other stuffed animals, Jack wobbled back to the cashier with his arms full with toys. When they had paid and gotten all the gifts wrapped up in fancy looking presents, they headed for the car together.

After managing to squeeze the bags as well as the small bike into the trunk, they looked rather proud of themselves.

Walking back inside to meet up with Jennifer and Hannah, Jack shyly entwined his fingers with hers, hoping she didn't mind.

This was nice, Jack thought as they passed by store after store. Just walking around, spending time with her. He had never really had this with Sarah. They had both been so caught up in their own separate lives until they had gotten Hannah then it had been all about her, and when William came along their strolling around the mall days had definitely been long gone.

Jack could see Kate from the corner of his eye, looking with awe at the clothes stores that they passed by.

Trying to think of a way to get her to buy something for herself, Jack discreetly stopped in front of one of the stores. Kate at once looked over at him with a confused look on her face.

Just smiling, Jack didn't answer her but instead just guided her by the hand into the store and right into the middle of it.

"Uh Jack, what are we doing in here?" Kate asked suspiciously as Jack inspected what seemed to be some kind of spaghetti strapped lace chemise.

Realizing what it was he was fingering on, Jack smoothly let go of it and cleared his throat. "I just thought maybe we could get you some new stuff." Jack said sheepishly, now inspecting what he was sure of being a pink shirt.

Kate shifted uncomfortable, not looking too thrilled by the idea. Especially not since one of the store attendants had snuck up next to her and asked if they needed any help.

Jack took a step closer to Kate and leaned in close to her ear. "We're not leaving until you have at least two shopping bags full of new clothes." He said with a loving but still definite voice and as he leaned back again he placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

Kate had responded with a shy smile as she had started strolling around the store. Not really looking like she was planning on buying anything at all.

Ten minutes later Jack thought it was time to call in some back-up and a couple of minutes later his sister and daughter walked into the store. Hannah immediately started talking about the things she and Jennifer had done, seen and eaten. Jack tried his best to following even thought the story lacked both chronological structure as well as full understandable English words.

Over Hannah's head Jack could see Jennifer trying to get Kate trying out a huge pile of clothes that she was carrying. When had she even had a chance to pick those out? Had she just walked in and grabbed an item from each shelf on her way over to Kate?

It didn't take long until the four year old had had enough of the clothes store. Walking back and forth had apparently only been a temporary pastime activity. Jack was starting to find it quite boring himself as he for the hundredth time counted the glass windows in the ceiling.

He let his eyes travel over to Kate who had definitely gotten more into the shopping by now. She was happily spinning around in a cute dress, waiting for Jennifer's opinion. Noticing that he was looking, her face shined up as she did another full spin to show him as well.

Jack smiled back at her and showed his thumb up to indicate that he thought it looked great. It took a few moments before Jennifer nodded approvingly which was followed by Kate disappearing back into the changing booth.

Noticing that Hannah now was standing next to Jennifer, helping the girls decide on which clothes to buy, Jack walked over as well.

Seating himself in a chair right outside the changing booths, Jack started looking around the store from the new angle. He honestly couldn't see the fun in this. For once it wasn't as bad though, the fact that Kate's face lit up every time she stepped back out with a new outfit was totally making it worth the wait but that women actually found pleasure in the shopping activity in it self was beyond him.

"You okay Jackie, you look tired?" Jennifer asked teasingly, giving her big brother a sympathizing look.

"I'm fine" He said back jadedly as Hannah came walking slowly towards him. Picking the little girl up to his lap, Jack glanced down at his watch.

"You know what, we're just gonna leave you two to the shopping for a while." Jack said to his sister as he rose from the chair, lifting Hannah up as well.

Glancing over at the changing booth where Kate was for a second, he then turned back to Jennifer. "Tell Kate I went to get something for Amron."

Jennifer just frowned and gave him a confused look.

"She'll know what I mean." Jack said secretively giving his sister a playful look, as he left the shop.

When Jack finally got back to the clothes store, he was carrying a sleeping Hannah. With her head nuzzled into his neck and her legs wrapped securely around his waist, Hannah shifted slightly in her sleep as Jack sat back down in the chair he had been in earlier.

After more than an hour spent in the store, much to his satisfaction, they left with almost three full shopping bags.

Placing the sleeping Hannah in her car seat, Jack smiled to himself at the fact that his sister and new girlfriend was chatting and giggling like they were best friends as they tried to shove the shopping bags into the car.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

They had stopped by a fast food restaurant and eaten dinner before they had driven Jennifer back to her place.

When they finally got back home they had decided on spending a little time at the park, much to Jack's distress considering what had happened last week at the playground in town. Kate and Hannah had managed to convince him though and soon they were on their way, walking down to the playground that was just around the corner from the house.

Hannah went there all the time with Amy, but Jack knew she wasn't that thrilled about the park anymore since it was mostly toddlers playing there.

Holding Kate's hand, Jack lazily pushed Hannah's swing with his other. Feeling that she had enough speed, he took a step back and folded his arms around the brunette from behind and Kate at once leaned back comfortably against him. Intertwining their hands over Kate's stomach, they both stood following the movements of Hannah's swing with their eyes.

It didn't take long until Hannah's swing had lost most of its speed. The little girl was now trying to stop it completely by putting down her feet to the ground, but not daring to do so properly it was just the tips of her shoes that were in the sand in an attempt to slow the swing down further.

Jack suddenly felt Kate tense up in his arms. She smoothly turned around in his embrace so that she was able to see him.

"Jack, have we been here before?" She asked in a curious tone, as she turned back slightly and let her eyes sweep over the playground before she shifted again to once more meet his eyes.

Giving her a confused look, Jack shook his head. "No we haven't. Why do you ask?"

"I just… I don't know. Got the weirdest déjà vu feeling, but I can't really place what it was that set it off." A small sigh was heard as Kate wiggled out of Jack's arms and paced over to Hannah.

Jack watched as Kate lifted Hannah off the swing and placing her down safely on the ground.

Deciding that it was time to head back home, they walked back with Hannah in-between them.

After giving Hannah a bath and tucking her in, Jack went looking for Kate. Finding her sitting on his bed, Jack stopped in the doorway to his bedroom, leaning against it. "Hi"

"Hey" Kate greeted back with a shy smile as she quickly glanced up at him.

Taking in the shopping bags that were spread out on the bed, Jack gave her a questioning look. He had emptied out a closet for Kate to put all her new things in, but apparently there was something holding her back to do so. "You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just… I don't know. It feels really strange to occupy one of your closets. Are we really 'there' yet? Me having a closet in your bedroom…" The brunette looked really unsure and she was doing everything possible not to meet his eyes.

"Who decides if we're 'there' or not? It's just a closet Kate." Jack said giving her a reassuring look.

"I guess you're right" The brunette said as she rose from the bed and emptied one of the shopping bags on the bed.

"I am." Jack said with a teasing smug look on his face.

"You know, Jennifer probably asked me 20 times today who Amron was." Kate informed Jack, giving him an unimpressed look as she placed a pile of new tops on one of the shelves.

"Sorry. I hope she didn't give you too much trouble." Jack said sincerely, knowing that his sister could be awfully annoying when she wanted to.

"It's okay." Kate said giving him a look to tell him that it was indeed alright.

"Oh wait, I got you something." Jack said with a goofy smile, disappearing out of the doorway and down to the hallway.

Emptying his coat pocket, Jack came back to the bedroom.

"Here" Jack said with an exaggeratedly sweet voice as he re-entered the room holding a small fancy gift bag.

Kate smiled shyly as she took the small bag and peeked into it. "Jack you really didn't ha-" Her face turned from flattered to blank in an instant.

Kate then gave him a smug smile as she held up the light yellow baby-rattle she had looked at in the toy store. "Very funny" She said attempting a stern look which turned into a grin.

"I knew you'd like it" Jack said teasingly as he came closer and without warning swept her off her feet, spinning her in a quick circle.

Kate started giggling as she tried to wiggle herself out of his grip. "Jack, put me down" Kate demanded in-between laughs.

"Alright" Jack said mischievously, falling backwards down on the bed, dragging Kate with him.

Now lying on top of him, Kate did her best to control her laugher. Jack smoothly flipped them over and rested his upper body on his elbows. Wrapping her arms around him Kate drew him down to her face and kissed him deeply.

Pulling away for air, Jack hovered over Kate's smaller body taking in her beauty. Letting his fingers trace over her face, mapping it out just in case something would happen and he wouldn't get a chance to do so.

"You know, when you said… you know…" Kate said quietly, her cheeks slowly turning to a cute shade of pink.

Jack listened curiously, having no idea what she was talking about. Letting his fingers play with one of her chocolate curls, Jack leaned closer and started tracing kisses down her neck.

Kate let out a giggle as she tried her best to continue her sentence that so far hadn't made much sense to Jack at all. "…well I just thought you meant… something else."

Jack stopped and looked down at her, meeting her eyes. "What?"

Biting her lip, Kate hesitated before her finally spoke again. "The rattle, I thought you meant that you went to get a pregnancy test."

"I did as well. It's in the bathroom." Jack whispered in to her ear, pulling away slightly to look at her.

Letting her eyes dart around for a second, Kate finally looked up at him, with a grateful yet shy expression on her face. "Thank you"

"You're welcome" Jack said back as he once more leaned down closer and kissed her.

He could feel Kate responding to him instantly as she deepened the kiss and pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

Jack didn't really want to do anything else than continuing this but he remembered the fact that he had made a deal with himself not to end up in bed with her again until she got her memory back.

Last thing the she had done back as her old self was after all sneaking out from his bedroom. He should definitely have gotten a hint from that.

He hadn't really thought about it but it was possible that Kate was going to completely freak when she started remembering. She had left him, something he was very much aware of. Knowing that, he had still dragged her back to his house, without her knowing that she had once left it with the plan of never returning.

He had kind of tricked her, tricked her into believing that they were friends or anything at all for that matter. When they really weren't, the truth was that they hadn't know anything about each other at all.

Jack reluctantly broke off the kisses that had now turned a lot more passionate. "Wait…"

Kate opened her eyes, breathing heavily as she looked up at him with a questioning look.

"We should stop. It's just not right to do this when you're not yourself." Jack said, trying his best to keep his voice steady.

Giving him a small sheepish smile, Kate drew him back closer. "Jack, this is me. If you think about it, I'm more me now than I was before."

"What?" Jack asked back confused ones more pulling away from her.

"Well now I'm just me, before I was influenced by all the things that had happened in my life." The brunette said, giving Jack a timid smile.

"Kate, 'that' is you. Everything that you've been though is what makes you, you." Jack said logically as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Kate exhaled loudly as Jack rolled off of her and lay down firmly on his back next to her. He felt her turning around slightly as she snuggled closer to his body. With a small smile and an understanding look, Kate reached up and kissed him softly.


	31. Chapter 31

_alrighty, new chapter for you guys :)_

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**Chapter Thirty-One**

There was someone chasing her. She just knew, even if she couldn't see anyone. Not that she dared to slow down to look, but she felt someone following her, just like you could feel it when someone was watching you.

But this feeling was so much stronger. She could feel him closing in on her. Maybe running wasn't the answer. If the pursuer was closing in on her she wasn't running fast enough and there was no way she could run any faster. She could feel every muscle in her body pulsating, faster and faster.

How was it possible that she couldn't outrun him? Maybe he wasn't running? Maybe it wasn't a person following her. Maybe it was something else.

Kate opened her eyes in panic, panting as she stared at the ceiling above her. It was just a dream, she told herself calmly, rolling over to her side. Realizing that Jack was still sleeping peacefully on his side of the bed, Kate moved closer to him and snuggled into his chest. As a result Jack shifted slightly and moved his arm to rest around her waist.

Burying her face in the crook of his neck, Kate inhaled the scent of Jack. Before having a real chance to fall asleep again, Kate heard the beeping sound of Jack's alarm clock.

She felt Jack loosen his grip around her in an attempt to roll over and turn it off. But he didn't get further than to his back before Kate stopped him. Leaning over his body, Kate reached the clock and turned if off.

Noticing that it was only 7:00, Kate sat straight up in the bed. "Why did you put it on 7 o'clock?" Kate sighed as she let her body fall back heavily against the mattress.

Stretching out slightly, Jack let out a yawn before getting up from the bed. "Well, it's Hannah's birthday. I'm planning on making her breakfast before she wakes up."

This man was just too adorable. She pictured Jack in her head with an apron on, as he struggled to make a perfect birthday breakfast. Just the fact that he was going to do the breakfast himself was really sweet since he after all had Maria who would whip up an amazing breakfast for his daughter with ease if he wanted her to.

With a huge smile, Kate jumped out of the bed and hurried after Jack down to the kitchen. If there was the tiniest chance she was going to see Jack in an apron there was no way she was missing it.

It took almost an hour until they were done with the birthday breakfast. Kate wasn't much help since she had no idea where anything was located in the kitchen. She had been opening and closing all the cupboards until she finally found what she was looking for and then she had started over with the fumbling around.

Jack placed a small present on the side of the tray and just as he was about to pick it up, a tired looking Hannah appeared in the doorway.

"Princess" Jack said disappointedly. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep" Hannah said jadedly giving her father an apologizing look for being up when he apparently didn't want her to.

Kate glanced over at Jack and they exchanged a look. Now what?

"We've made you breakfast." Jack finally said dumbly nodding to the tray he was holding.

Hannah's eyes immediately went to the small gift. "Can I open the present?"

"Sure, why not." Jack said, letting out a sigh. "Let's go sit on the couch."

Hannah ran ahead and was soon followed by the adults who sat down on each side of the excited little girl on the sofa.

The four year old snatched the small present the second Jack put down the tray on the coffee table.

"It's from both Kate and me" Jack said as Hannah tore the fancy paper off.

Kate looked up with a surprised expression at her name being mentioned. Giving Jack a small smile she looked back again to see what it was 'she' and Jack had gotten for her.

"I love it" Hannah exclaimed as she held up a kid sized necklace with a small dolphin hanging from it. "Thank you"

"It's adorable." Kate said with a smile. "Do you want me to help you put it on Hannah?"

The girl nodded excitedly and turned around slightly so Kate could get the necklace on her.

Finally getting the small chain together, Kate looked up and noticed Jack smiling at them. With a small shy smile back, Kate gently patted Hannah's shoulder announcing that the necklace was on.

After finishing breakfast, Jack and Kate were both in Hannah's control. The girl knew very well to use her birthday power against the adults.

After playing several games and playing with most of Hannah's stuffed animals, they finally were let out of her room, with the excuse that they had things to do before her party.

Kate had picked out a not too fancy looking dress to wear and was now standing in Jack's bathroom trying to get her hair up into a nice looking hairdo.

Seeing Hannah appear behind her in the mirror, Kate turned around just as she finished putting endless of hairclips into her hair to hold it up.

Taking in the troubled look on Hannah's face, Kate kneeled down to her level and gave her a soft smile. "Hi Sweetie, what's the matter?"

"Can you do my hair?" Hannah asked with a small voice.

"Of course I can" Kate answered delighted.

Lifting Hannah up on the bathroom counter, Kate took a brush and started to untangle Hannah's light brown hair. Hannah was in the meantime watching every move she did in their reflection in the mirror.

Kate's eyes fell down to the counter and she felt her heart stop beating as she saw the pregnancy test box lying just an inch from Hannah's small hand.

Letting out a noise that sounded like a mix of a cough and a snort, Kate snatched the box and pushed it into the top drawer. Hannah gave her a confused look but turned almost immediately back to the mirror to see how her new hairdo was taking form.

Realizing that there was a very small chance that Hannah would even understand what a pregnancy test was, Kate let out a breath she wasn't even aware that she had been holding.

When she was done braiding Hannah's hair, Kate helped her down from the counter and they went looking for Jack. Finding him in the kitchen unpacking the food that the catering company had dropped off just minutes earlier, Kate at once started helping him.

Hannah snuck off to her room with a promise not to get her dress messy, meaning no coloring or playing with clay.

"Uhm Kate, when people get here. Do you want me to introduce you as Kate or Elizabeth…" Jack asked hesitatively when Hannah was out of earshot.

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"Well considering Hannah, I would say Kate." Jack said with a small smile. "But I'll understand if you want them to know you as Elizabeth." He quickly added giving her an understanding look.

"I like Kate… and as you said, Hannah knows me as Kate."

With a small smile, Jack leaned closer and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I like Kate as well" He said with a loving voice and an adorable smile as he leaned in for another kiss.

The sound of Jack's doorbell broke off their kiss and they heard Hannah running down the hallway.

Several voices were heard and Kate could feel that she was starting to feel nervous. Jack wrapped his arms around her, as if he could sense her uneasiness, which at once made her feel better.

She could hear the voices get louder as they moved from the hallway and into the living room. Feeling Jack's hand on her back guiding her in the same direction, Kate took a deep breath to ease her nervousness.

As she entered Kate's eyes travelled over the new people, three women and a man. Two of the women just as man seemed to be in their 60s while the third woman looked a lot younger and was probably in her mid 30s.

Hannah was standing by the coffee table, fingering on two birthday presents, while her eyes was darting back and forth between her father as well as one of the women. Kate could tell that she was desperately waiting for someone to tell her that it was okay to open the gifts.

Feeling Jack's hand once more pushing her forward, Kate looked up and gave him a worried look.

Jack gave her a reassuring look as he stepped away from her and went to greet his relatives with quick hugs.

Coming back to her side, Jack gave her another smile. "Kate, this is my mother Margo." Jack started as he lazily directed his arm at his mother. "This is my Aunt Gloria, her husband Edward and my cousin Tracy. Everyone this is Kate."

Kate smiled politely, suddenly feeling a lot smaller than she was.

"Go ahead Hannah, open the gifts." Jack's mother said looking over at the child who instantly started tearing at the gift wrapping paper.

Not actually seeing what was hidden behind the mountain of crumpled paper, Kate thought she saw the gleam of something pink. Hannah's face lit up as she threw herself at her grandmother before hurrying over to the other three relatives, hugging each one of them.

Hearing the door bell again, Kate almost fell over as Hannah rushed passed her and disappeared through the doorway.

Hearing the familiar voice of Jack's little sister, Kate closed her eyes in relief. At least there would be one person there except Jack that she'd know.

Jennifer entered the room carrying a smiling Hannah but it didn't take more then a second before Jack's aunt Gloria muttered something about Hannah not being a baby, which lead to Jennifer putting the child back to the ground with an unimpressed look on her face.

Noticing that Jack was no longer next to her, Kate gave Jennifer a small greeting smile before sneaking back out to the kitchen.

"You okay?" Jack asked as she came in.

"Yeah. Your family seems nice" Kate said with a small forced smile on her face.

Giving her a look, Jack smirked. "Was that Jennifer at the door?"

Kate nodded as responds, as she was handed a tray to put in the fridge. "She brought a guy as well. Tall, blonde, blue eyes…"

Jack turned around and looked at her questioning. "Good looking?"

Kate grinned back at him. "Yeah… he was kind of good looking. Why?"

"Better looking than me?" Jack said with a teasing voice. "'Cause you know if there were to be a fight I need to know in advance who you find the hottest."

Giving him a disbelieving look, Kate let out a laugh. "Don't worry, I'm not much for blondes. I like my men dark and mysterious." Kate said with a wink just as Jennifer entered the room.

Feeling her cheeks turning pink, Kate bit her lip, hoping that the woman hadn't heard what she'd said.

"Hey guys." Jennifer said, giving a blushing Kate a suspicious look. "Did I interrupt something?"

"No" Kate said quickly, clearing her throat.

"Ugh, what is Aunt Gloria doing here?" Jennifer said, looking at Jack with a not too happy look on her face.

"I don't know. I didn't invite anyone. People just called and assumed there was a party and asked when it was going to start." Jack said with a sigh as he handed Kate a pile of plates which she carefully placed on the table.

"Aunt Gloria isn't a big fan of either me or Jennifer, or any other human being for that matter." Jack whispered, leaning closer to Kate.

Nodding understandingly, Kate made a mental note to try to stay as far away from the older woman as possible.

"So who is this guy you've brought and why in God's name did you leave him out there alone?" Jack asked curiously, now standing leaning against the counter.

"His name is Chad, he's a computer technician." Jennifer started but was soon interrupted by Jack.

"His name is Chad?" He asked, saying the name unnecessarily slow.

Jennifer gave him an unimpressed look and didn't even bother to answer him. "We've been dating for like a week, so I had a really hard time convincing him to come here with me."

After a few seconds of silence, Jennifer looked back and forth between Kate and Jack with a smug look on her face. "So how are things with you?"

"We're fine." Jack answered, giving his sister a warning look.

Jennifer suddenly got a strange look on her face. "Why are you in the kitchen? Where's Maria?"

"She's not working today. It's catered food anyway so not much work." Jack answered sounding almost a little proud.

"Okay. Well I should get back out there, so Aunt Gloria doesn't eat Chad alive." Jennifer said with a grin, leaving the kitchen.

Smiling, Jack took a step closer to Kate who was leaning against the counter just like he had been moments ago. He smoothly placed a hand on each side of her, trapping her between his arms.

Just as they both leaned in, expectantly waiting for their lips to collide in a passionate kiss, Hannah came running into the kitchen holding a beige stuffed animal in her arms.

"Look what aunt Jennifer got me! It's a seal! I didn't even have a seal." Hannah exclaimed happily. "How cool is that!"

Without stepping back from his position, Jack looked over at Hannah and nodded with a forced smile on his lips. "That's great Princess."

Hannah disappeared from the kitchen just as quickly as she had appeared. Kate hurriedly leaned up and kissed Jack before anyone else had the chance to interrupt them.

Placing her hands on his chest to steady herself better, Kate let out a small whimper as Jack let the tip of his tongue glide over her lip.

Getting completely lost in the kisses, Kate didn't even notice that the door bell had been heard more than once since she had snuck back into the kitchen.

Hearing a man clearing his throat, Kate immediately pulled away from Jack, who turned his head around slightly to see who was standing behind him.

"Hi Jack. Jen said you were hiding out in here" A tall man with light brown hair said.

"Hey Marc" Jack said back as he withdrew his hands from the counter, letting Kate free from the entrapment his arms had held.

"And now I can see why you're hiding out in here." The man added with an amused look on his face.

"Marc this is Kate, Kate this is my best friend Marc." Jack clarified as he almost demonstratively placed an arm around Kate's waist.

Marc smiled at her politely, but didn't make any movement indicating that he was going to shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you Kate"

"Likewise" Kate automatically replied with a smile.

A blonde woman appeared behind Marc with a questioning look on her face. "What are you guys doing out here?"

"Hi Barbara" Jack greeted the woman. "Kate this is Marc's wife. Barbara this is Kate." Jack once more explained.

The woman did take a step forward and shook her hand, much to Kate's surprise.

The four of them then headed back in to the living room which was now filled with people. There was now a second older man, who was sitting in an armchair as well as several more adults but now there were also children running around.

Kate could feel Jack pulling her closer as they stood hiding out in the doorway. "The older man in the armchair, that's Sarah's father, George. Those people over there, that's Sarah's sister Lois and her husband Antonio and Sarah's brother Michael with his wife Michelle."

Kate took in the four people standing talking in their own little circle. One of the women was holding a little girl that was probably just a few months old. From Jack's explanation that woman would be Michelle, namely Sarah's sister in law.

Letting out a heavy breath, Kate had a feeling she wouldn't remember all these people anyway.

"Those little boys over there by Hannah, that's Nicholas and Lukas." Jack declared further.

Letting her eyes travel around the room until they finally settled on the birthday girl who was indeed standing talking to two boys about the same age as her.

"Lukas is Marc and Barbara's. Nicholas is Lois and Antonio's kid. The little girl next to George, she's also theirs, Rebecca."

Knowing where the older man was sitting, Kate for once found the new person with ease. Since Jack had used the word 'little', Kate had expected a girl younger than Hannah, but instead the child was at least 7 years old. She was sitting on the armrest talking intensely to her grandfather.

Scanning the room again, Kate felt a little better when she noted that there were no more new people to identify.

Jennifer suddenly appeared from no where, now standing right in front of them. "I'll guard her for you for a while" The young woman said with a teasing voice, taking Kate's arm and pulling her away from Jack.

Shrugging, Kate just smiled at Jack to let him know that it was okay. With that he disappeared back to the kitchen.

"I noticed that Jack explained to you who everyone was. Well the only thing you need to know is that the only normal people here are Marc and Barbara. Most of the kids are alright too." Jennifer clarified with a grin.

"Tracy might seem normal since she's a Shephard, but oh no. Don't let her trick you into believing that." Jennifer continued giving Kate a serious look.

"Got it" Kate said with an amused expression on her face.

"Great now the little brat is talking to Chad." Jennifer said with a sigh.

Kate followed her eyes and they soon settled on the blonde Chad, who was indeed talking to Jack and Jennifer's cousin Tracy.

"I'll be right back, I really need to go interfere." Jennifer said sounding annoyed as she paced over to the other side of the room.

Kate let out a small giggle as she watched Jennifer sneak up on Chad and literally throwing herself at him in front of her cousin.

"Hi, I don't believe we've met. I'm Michelle."

Kate turned around and got face to face with the red haired woman with a little baby girl she had seen earlier when Jack had told her everybody's names. She was still holding the child, supporting her with her left hand as she had reached her right one out to take Kate's.

Shaking it, Kate gave the woman a polite smile. "I'm Kate."

"Are you related to Jack?" The woman asked curiously shifting the baby back to holding her with two arms.

"No, I'm not related to Jack." Kate said a little dumbly, feeling the need to continue explaining who she was. "I'm just a friend."

A friend? Well, maybe saying that she was his new girlfriend to Jack's late wife's relatives, wasn't too smart.

The woman in front of her gave her a suspicious look but it soon turned back to the friendly expression she had had earlier.

Kate had barely noticed, she had been looking at the baby who was staring directly at her. When the baby giggled, Kate's whole face lit up with a huge smile.

"Do you wanna hold her?" Michelle asked thoughtfully as she held the child closer towards Kate.

Before Kate had a chance to respond, Michelle had moved the baby into her arms. Kate shifted the little girl's weight so she found a comfortable position holding her.

"She's adorable." Kate said staring down at the baby. "What's her name?"

"Emma, she's 4 months." The red head said proudly.

"Hi Emma" Kate said with a childlike voice, tracing her fingers over the baby's stomach, tickling her.

"Could you hold her for a second, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom." Michelle said, getting a pacifier from her pocket and handing it over to Kate.

"Sure, no problem." Kate answered with a smile as the woman made her way out of the room.

Kate walked over and sat down in one of the armchairs. It didn't take long before Hannah had walked over as well with curious eyes, looking between Kate and the small baby in her arms.

"Emma is my cousin" Hannah announced proudly as she gently placed a hand on the baby's head.

"Yeah I know" Kate said knowingly, giving Hannah a small smile. "So did you get any more cool presents"

By the mention of gifts, Hannah's face lit up. She started rambling all the things she had gotten and explained carefully and slowly so that Kate wouldn't miss any detail of the gifts or the person that had given them to her.

Kate did her best in keeping up, but the nicknames for Hannah's relatives as well as the names of all these toys she had never heard of soon made her lose all understanding in what Hannah was talking about.

"You know there is a present for you in the kitchen from me" Kate said interrupting Hannah, who immediately disappeared to the kitchen, not even bothering to finish her last sentence about the pink jewelry box she had gotten from someone.

She came back moments later with Jack in tow, carrying the gift Kate had gotten the day earlier at the toy store.

Kate's eyes met with Jack's and he gave her an amused look as he noticed the baby she was holding. Getting up from the armchair, Kate walked over to them holding Emma securely to her chest.

"She suits you" Jack whispered as soon as Kate had gotten close enough, his voice teasing but still sincere.

"Can I open the gift?" Hannah asked impatiently as she inspected the package closely in an attempt to get any clue to what it may contain.

"Sure" Kate said simply, her cheeks slightly pink from Jack's statement.

She watched fascinated how Hannah opened it in a second and squealed when she saw the stuffed chipmunk hidden inside.

"I love it. Thank you so much" Hannah said sounding extremely cheerful, hugging Kate's legs.

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_now be an angel and leave a lil review or i might hold the upcoming chapters hostage :p_


	32. Chapter 32

_thanks for the nice reviews :) glad you all seem to still like it ;)_

_new chappy, and we might actually start getting some answers soon ;)_

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**Chapter Thirty-Two**

After a lot of small talk they had all finally sat down to eat. Jack had seated himself between Kate and Marc and made sure that Jennifer had sat down on the other side of Kate to make sure she didn't end up next to any of the crazy relatives.

The evening had been intense. Sarah's brother had been getting on his nerves for a couple of hours now. Jack felt that he would snap any second if his late wife's brother commented on one single thing else that he said.

Lucky everyone seemed to be finished with their food and Jack saw his chance to leave the table and sneak off to the kitchen to bring out Hannah's birthday cake.

Taking it out from the fridge he noted that Kate had followed his example and was standing almost next to him with a lighter in her hand, ready to light the 4 candles.

With a smile he held the cake steady so she could light them and then Jack carried it in to the dining room with Kate in tow.

Hannah had gotten up on her chair to see the cake before Jack had even placed it down on the table. She had squealed happily when she saw that it was shaped as a pink unicorn which at once made old Aunt Gloria start mumbling about the fact that the child was not sitting properly on her chair.

Jack noted how Kate smoothly kneeled down on the floor bringing Hannah with her to sit down on the chair, whispering something discreetly in her ear.

It seemed to take forever with the cake, blowing the candles, cutting it then talking about the unicorn-shape, which soon had turned into a huge discussion about the supernatural.

Jennifer had managed to provoke Aunt Gloria about the subject so much that if she had been a cartoon character there would have been smoke coming out of her ears.

Jack's cell phone suddenly interrupted the debate and he could feel his aunt as well as his mother glaring at him.

With a nervous chuckle Jack got the phone from his pocket and answered with a simple 'Hello'.

"Hey Jack, it's Mitch Davis."

"Hi, just one second" Jack said into the phone, as he rose from his chair. "I really have to take this" He said quietly to his friends and family seated at the table in front of him, slightly thankful to have a reason to sneak off again.

Pacing out of the dining hall, Jack continued talking into the phone making his way down to his office. "Did you find something?"

"Yeah. Well, first of all I found a lot of married Adam and Julie matching with one of the kids and one pair matching with two."

"Which two kids?" Jack asked curiously, having a feel he already knew the answer. Not that they had for sure found the family but the fact that Evania was a unique and rare name. So most likely it was the other too.

"Samuel and Emily" Mitch answered just as Jack had predicted.

Jack sat down in the chair in his office while Mitch continued talking.

"Well, Adam Coleman and Julie Bailey Coleman, married 1999, ages 26 and 31, children: Emily, born 2001 and Samuel born 2005. Adam's a stockbroker and Julie's a teacher. That's what I've got so far. Right now I'm trying to find a confirming picture of either one of them."

"That's great Mitch. Thank you so much. Please let me know the second you know something else."

"Sure. I didn't find much on 'Elizabeth Ryan' yet. The best I have so far is one that disappeared 15 months ago in New Jersey presumed kidnapped. Other than that I have two that disappeared in 1982 and 1989. The one from 1982 was declared dead in 1993 and the one from 1989 in 1996. Also found one Eliza Ryan that went missing in 1977."

"That's way too early. Do you know anything else about the one that went missing in New Jersey? Do you have a photo or a description or something?"

"Just a simple description, young woman, brunette, wore a black jacket and jeans the night she disappeared."

"Okay, if you find a picture or get anymore information about her, please call me."

"Alright I will. Talk to you later Jack."

Turning the cell off, Jack took a deep breath and leaned back heavily in the chair. He didn't feel like going back to the dining room just yet. Letting his eyes travel over the desk, his eyes feel on a photograph of himself and Sarah.

Jack sighed. God her relatives were driving him nuts. Ever since she had passed away they had gotten all judgmental on him. Even at the table, moments ago, especially her brother Michael. Like he was the perfect family man in the world.

Jack let out a snort by the thought. Alright, so maybe he wasn't a doctor who had to work odd hours but he definitely didn't spend more time at home than Jack did. Michael had his second home at the country club or on the golf field.

Letting out another sigh, Jack took the frame and moved it closer to his face. They looked so happy in this picture. No wonder, they had been happy. The photo was taken on their vacation to Hawaii, why wouldn't they look happy.

"It's her birthday, you should be here" Jack whispered quietly into the empty room.

It felt like he had gotten himself lost in the photo. He wasn't sure that he was actually looking at the picture anymore as much as just staring out into the room.

He felt a single tear travel down his right cheek just as he heard the door opened. As a reflex Jack wiped it away with the back of his hand before turning his head slightly to see who it was that had entered the room.

Slightly surprised that it was Kate, Jack let his eyes fall down to the wooden desk. His first guess on person leaving the table to look for him would have been Jennifer or his mother. After that he would have assumed Marc.

He kind of wished it had been Jennifer though. He felt a little more comfortable around his baby sister when it came to Sarah. To be honest he felt more comfortable when it came to Sarah with anyone except Kate.

First of all, Kate had never met Sarah. She hadn't seen the life they had had together, the beautiful family they had started. And second, Sarah was his ex, while Kate was the new woman in his life, making it an even more delicate subject.

"Hey" Kate whispered very quietly to him, like she was afraid to disturb the atmosphere in the room.

His eyes that had moments before been glued to the picture would now not leave the smooth surface of the desk. "Hey"

Jack almost jumped out of his chair when a small hand out of no where gently squeezed his shoulder. He waited tensely for her to say something but when she didn't he felt himself relax a little.

Kate had placed both of her hands on his shoulders, just letting them lie there, as if she could transfer support to him just by her touch. If felt like she could though.

Taking a deep breath he turned the chair around slowly, making Kate's hands slip off his shoulders. The sad and sympathizing expression on her face, made him feel even worse.

With a sigh, Jack let his eyes fall to the ground and just as he was about to speak he felt Kate's fingers tilting his head back up.

"Jack… I understand that you miss her" Kate said slowly, looking directly into his teary eyes. "You know, I wish that she could have been here, Hannah's mother was the one that was supposed to stand next to her as she blew out the candles on that cake, not me."

His mouth was unusually dry and as he did a lame attempt to swallow, Jack let a hand run through his short hair. He nodded slightly, not really as a reply to what she had said, more an unconscious movement as he took in the statement she had made.

It was true. He did miss her and Sarah was the one that should have been there next to Hannah, not Kate. Realizing that he would rather have had Sarah there than Kate he immediately felt guilty towards the brunette.

Glancing up at her again, Jack was kind of shocked by the sad and crushed expression on her face. She didn't seem to know what else to say or do as her eyes seemed to tear up more by the second.

"If you want me to leave…" Kate started, her voice a lot more fragile than before.

He did want a minute alone. He had to recompose so that he could go back to the party and he had a feeling that he would just get even more gloomy if Kate stayed and they continued talking. "Yeah" Jack said with a sigh, feeling kind of bad about kicking her out of his office.

"I'm sorry" He added quickly, feeling even more guilty when he noted how her face fell and a tear made its way down her cheek.

"No I understand." Kate said quietly, her voice sounding very strained. She looked like she was doing her best not to fall apart completely.

Taken back by Kate's sudden devastation, Jack didn't know what to do. He hadn't known her that long by he'd never seen the young woman so distressed.

Turning around slightly, Kate glanced at the door quickly before turning back to him as if showing him that she was indeed planning on leaving the room soon. Letting out a small suppressed sob, Kate wiped away another tear from her face. "Ok, I'll go pack my things…"

"What?" Jack exclaimed as he rose from the office chair in such a hurry that it fell backwards and landed on the ground with a thud. With a completely blank expression on his face, Jack folded his arms around the almost trembling brunette.

"No, no, no, no" Jack almost ranted, pulling her closer in his embrace. "That is not what I meant. I don't want you to leave."

"I just wanted a minute alone in here. I didn't want you to leave the house." Jack continued explaining, still holding Kate as close as he could. He could feel the tension leaving her body as she relaxed against him, burying her face in his shoulder.

Kate sobbed quietly as she leaned back slightly, enough for Jack to be able to see the tears on her face. "I don't wanna leave"

Giving her a reassuring smile and an apologizing look, Jack placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Good, because I definitely don't want you to leave."

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_please review_ -bribes with cookies- 


	33. Chapter 33

_Hi guys, Im really sorry for the lack of updates. for once its not caused by my laziness or busy schedule. I havent been feeling well at all and been at the hospital for which feels like ever :/ but Im finally getting better and Im gonna try to start posting chapters again. hope you're still with me :)_

_and thank you all very much for the reviews I've gotten wihle I was gone. Glad that you still like the story :)_

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**Chapter Thirty-Three**

Kate had taken a fist full of Jack's white shirt in her hand and held on to it like it was a matter of life and death. Her whole world had almost trembled down the second she thought Jack had kicked her out of his house.

It hadn't made much since. She had gotten a closet in his room just the night before. But her mind hadn't really been working properly at the time, it had been completely clouded with distress and complete terror.

She had calmed down a bit now, but she didn't want to let go of Jack. Not wanting to separate from him for a second, Kate let her head rest down on his shoulder again and to her contentment Jack wrapped his arms a little tighter around her waist.

Trying her best to stop sobbing, Kate held her breath for a second in an attempt to get total control over her own body again. She hated to appear this weak in front of Jack. It was a feeling she hadn't really had before. Not the weak part, because not remembering anything about your past constantly put you in a weak state, but hating to appear weak.

It was as if something inside her was screaming at her to get a grip or at least fake a brave façade and not let her distress show this obviously. But at the same time she wanted to ignore the feeling and just stay in Jack's protective and comforting arms.

Out of no where Kate heard the door open. She knew Jack had heard it as well since he had turned them around slightly most likely to be able to see who it was that had walked into his office.

Lifting her head faintly, Kate opened her eyes to see Jack's little sister staring at them from the doorway with a shocked expression on her face.

Pulling away from Jack, Kate wiped away the rebelling tears that had forced their way down her cheeks.

"Oh my God Kate, are you okay?" Jennifer said rushing over to her side, appearing next to the brunette in less than a second. Giving Jack a disgusted look, the younger Shephard brought her new friend into a comforting hug.

"Jack what did you do?" Jennifer asked in a harsh tone.

"He didn't do anything" Kate said slinking out of the woman's embrace. Her eyes locked with Jack and she felt a sheepish smile appear on her lips by the surprised and confused look that was still on Jack's face since Jennifer had rushed over and suddenly thrown her arms around Kate.

Jennifer was looking back and forth between Kate and her brother. Kate started to feel rather uncomfortable, unsure what the other woman was going to do.

"Hey, let's get you freshened up" Jennifer said dragging Kate with her out of the room.

Giving Jack a quick look, Kate willingly followed Jennifer to Jack's bedroom and into the fairly large bathroom. The young woman put the toilette lid down and indicated for Kate to sit down.

Sitting down heavily, Kate noted the suspicious look on Jennifer's face. Kate followed the young Shephard's eyes down to the counter and noticed that she had definitely spread out her belongings when she had gotten ready for the party.

Jennifer let out snort. "Not living here, my ass" Her voice was light and she gave Kate a teasing look.

Remembering that she had overheard Jack telling his sister that she wasn't really living there, Kate chuckled nervously. Jennifer just smiled at her and handed her a bit of toilette paper to remove the make up that had run down her face.

With a deep sigh Jennifer tore her way through the things on the bathroom counter.

"Oh my, how can you not have Kleenex in your bathroom?" The woman mumbled as she started looking through the drawers.

The second Jennifer opened the first one Kate remembered what she had thrown down into the top drawer just hours ago. She didn't really have a chance to react before Jennifer was holding the white box in her hand, with an extremely pale expression on her face.

Kate opened her mouth to say something. Having absolutely no idea what to actually say, Kate was forced to close it again and just continue staring at the other woman.

Kate knew that the look on her face had given away the fact that she had known that the test had been there and that her expression was caused by the reaction of Jennifer. And definitely not that she was surprised or shocked to have found a pregnancy test that she had no knowledge about.

Unsure about which would have been better, Kate let out a small defeated sounding sigh.

It looked like there was no way Jennifer even believed that she was indeed holding a pregnancy test and even less that she had just found it in her brother's bathroom.

She had after all no real idea how this woman felt about her. She had gotten along great with Jennifer and it was nice to have someone else to hang out with like they had in the mall. But she didn't know what she thought of her relationship to Jack, even less the woman's opinion if it turned out that she was actually pregnant.

What about her own opinion on the subject? What the hell had she planned to do if she was pregnant? What would Jack do? Would it even be Jack's? She didn't really know what she had done and who she might have slept with before she lost her memory.

"Oh my God" Jennifer said quietly giving Kate an excited look.

Kate shifted apprehensively, feeling really uncomfortable as the other woman stared at her with wide eyes.

"Are you…?" Jennifer asked inquiringly, her mouth slightly open and the disbelieving look still evident on her face.

"Well if I had known there wouldn't be an unopened box in your hand." Kate said with a rather sarcastic tone, giving Jennifer a look.

"Right" Jennifer said sheepishly, glancing at the box. "But you think you are?"

"Maybe, I don't know. Jack doesn't, but he got the test for me to confirm that I wasn't." Kate said quietly, hoping that Jack wouldn't be upset that Jennifer now knew about the pregnancy test.

"Oh" Jennifer said, putting the box back in the drawer.

Kate couldn't tell if the woman was relieved or disappointed. Maybe she was a little bit of both? Why would she be both? Kate asked herself. Thinking about it for a moment, Kate realized that that was how she would feel about it herself.

She would be relieved to know that she wasn't pregnant. The idea of bringing a child into a world she didn't know herself was just crazy. People talk about it not being the right time in there life to have children. Well she didn't even have a life. She didn't have money, a job, a family, she didn't have anything.

And that was the reason she would be disappointed. If she was pregnant she would have a baby. A family. Alright it would be a small family, but still something she could call her family, and that was what counted. Her life would suddenly have a purpose.

The fact that Jack had said that the baby would be his made her like the idea even more. He would become her family as well. She would have this great connection to him that nothing would be able to take away.

Those things were not good reasons to bring a baby in to the world though and she knew it. It was selfish to have a child just because you wanted to belong better in the world yourself.

Kate let out a sigh which made Jennifer kneel down in front of her with a concerned look. "Are you worried about it?"

Suddenly feeling very thankful for Jennifer's concern, Kate gave the woman a weak smile. "A little"

Jennifer nodded understandingly and returned the smile. "About it being positive… or negative?" She then asked a little hesitatively.

"Both" Kate answered simply letting her head fall down a little.

With another sigh Kate almost reluctantly looked back up at Jennifer. Biting her lip, the brunette took a deep breath in an attempt to build up some courage.

"I don't…" Kate started, but her voice suddenly failed her. "I don't remember" She finally managed to get out, as she desperately tried to suppress a sob.

"Remember what?" Jennifer asked with a worried expression.

"Anything. There was this… accident… thing. And I woke up at the hospital without any memory what so ever."

Jennifer's facial expression and turned from anxiousness to plane disbelief. "You have amnesia?"

Kate nodded slowly, with a solemn look on her face telling the woman that she was serious about this.

"Oh my God… Does Jack know?"

Kate glared at the younger Shephard. "Of course he knows."

"Wow" Jennifer said as she leaned back slightly before sitting down flat against the wall facing the brunette. "How long ago was this?"

"Less than a week ago."

"Less than a week? So you don't remember anything that happened before last week?" Jennifer uttered in shock. Apparently she had more of stated this than asked, since she was now on her feet leaning against the counter instead of waiting for an answer on the floor.

Kate still nodded faintly, as she started to feel the need to get back to the party.

"So from your point of view, you've known Jack for a week?"

"Less than a week…" Kate repeated almost a little shamefully.

"And him?"

Kate frowned, not understand what the woman meant. "What?"

"How long has Jack known you?" Jennifer clarified with an almost inquiring tone in her voice.

Kate felt herself zoning out, staring directly at the wall in front of her. How long had Jack known her? How could she not know? She did know that it wasn't a very long period of time. From what Jack had told her about how they met and so on, it was probably something about a month, but it could still be anything from a week to... well maybe a year.

Kate glanced up with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. "I don't know."

This for some reason made the other woman smile slightly, before letting out a soft sigh. "You know if mom knew about this, she would flip!" Jennifer said with an amused tone that Kate had only heard her use when she was talking to Jack.

Kate hadn't really thought about it, but she just realized how different Jennifer acted around her compared to Jack. With her the younger Shephard was more compassionate, friendlier even. With Jack she always had a smug look on her face, eyes expressing pure sibling rivalry.

Kate smiled briefly up at Jennifer, before lowering her eyes to the floor again, wishing that she had grown up with an older brother like Jack as well. All though she could imagine that he had probably been a pest growing up. Either constantly teasing or really overprotective, she couldn't quite decide which category to place him under.

"We should probably go back to the dining hall." Jennifer said interrupting Kate's thoughts. "You know, you shouldn't worry too much. I'm sure it will turn out for the best."

Kate stood up and exhaled loudly. "I'm sure you're right." Kate said a little absently before forcing a small smile on her lips as the two of them headed back to the others.

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_please do leave a little review :)_


	34. Chapter 34

_Hey guys. Thank you all so much for the reviews and comments :) I'm so glad that you like the story :) been away on a conference for like ever that took all the energy out of me and I had my birthday so didn't have a lot of fic-writing time, but here is finally an update .. didnt actually have anyone beta-reading this so I hope its not too bad :S_

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**Chapter Thirty-Four**

Jack let out a sigh as he placed another pile of plates on the kitchen counter. Telling himself that the party soon would be over, he snuck back into the living room and scanned the room for Kate. Finding the brunette in a corner talking to Michelle, Jack groaned. Alright so there weren't a lot of people here to bond with that he liked but Michelle, really?

Not that Sarah's family was that bad, to think of it he almost preferred them next to his own. He still had contact with most of them, mostly for Hannah's sake though. Especially Sarah's sister, Lois, since her kids were about Hannah's age.

Her brother Michael and his wife Michelle didn't even live in L.A. so naturally he hadn't had much contact with them, none in fact. Last time he had seen them was at Sarah's funeral. A few hugs, some polite comments back and fourth, but that had been it.

Taking a few long steps across the room, Jack appeared behind Kate in seconds. Jack placed a large hand on her shoulder which made the young woman turn around casually, obviously sure about who it was that were standing behind her.

He could feel her lean into the touch of his hand as she smiled casually up at him, before turning back to the redhead and continued their discussion.

Before he had a chance to join the conversation Jack's cell phone started ringing. Leaning forward, Jack excused himself before he smoothly disappeared out to the hallway.

Checking the caller-id on the screen, Jack took a quick expectant breath before quickly once more vanishing into his office out of earshot from the party guests.

"Shephard, I got a confirming picture of Adam Coleman. I think they are our family." The voice of Mitch echoed into the phone.

"That's great. Do you have an address or a number or something?"

"Of course" The man answered him proudly in the phone and gave Jack all the information he had on the Coleman family.

After hanging up, Jack sat staring on the small piece of paper on which he had written down the contact information. Should he call them? Or simple just show up on their door step? Either way he had to tell Kate that he had found them.

Jack hurried back to the living room and discretely signed to Kate to sneak away from the red haired woman. With a puzzled look, Kate walked over to him and Jack pulled her with him out of the room and in to the kitchen.

"What's going on" Kate asked, frowning at him.

Suddenly feeling a little apprehensive in telling her, Jack shifted back and forth with a blank expression on his face. "Uhm, well…"

Kate narrowed her eyes slightly. He could tell that she was trying to read him in an attempt to figure out what was going on.

"I've had this guy trying to dig up information about your life." The second the words had left his mouth, Jack closed his eyes briefly as he bit the inside of his cheek. Way to make it sound like you've been trying to dig up dirty on her, Jack told himself as he took a quick breath and tried to reformulate what he had said.

"You know… information that would be useful for you to get your memory back or maybe locate your family…" Jack said trailing off as Kate gave him a small smile letting him know that it was okay and that she understood what he meant.

"So…" Kate started nervously. "Did you find anything?"

Jack nodded almost excitedly, a small grin spreading on his lips. "Yeah, I got the names and the address to the family that was among your pictures."

Jack could see how Kate's eyes literally lit up, as an expectant expression appeared on her face. "And…"

"Well, that's it. I haven't contacted them yet. They live here in L.A. so I thought that we could maybe stop by and you can talk to them in person."

"Right now?" Kate asked like an impatient child at the same time as she stroke strings of her brown hair behind her ears.

Jack glanced at the doorway that led to the living room. He hadn't really considered going there now, or today even. His whole family was at the moment in his house celebrating his daughter's birthday, but with another look at Kate's face he nodded a little distantly.

"Sure, as soon as everyone leaves." Jack added with a soft smile. "I'm gonna find my mother and ask if she can watch Hannah for the rest of the night."

Kate's face immediately fell by the mention of the little girl's name. "It's her birthday…" The brunette said in a whisper.

Jack knew that Hannah probably wouldn't mind. Sadly she was almost used to him not being there all the time, cause of his job. Plus that the girl loved spending time with her grandmother. All though, Jack had a feeling the grandmother wouldn't be as understanding.

Obviously noticing the expression on his face, Kate leaned forward slightly and caught his eyes with hers. "You shouldn't go anywhere tonight, it wouldn't be fair to Hannah."

"It's not Hannah I'm worried about. It's already past her bedtime so her birthday is as good as over. It's my mother's inputs I'm slightly anxious about."

"Oh…" She said quietly, biting her bottom lip apprehensively. "Maybe Jennifer could watch her…" Kate added, her eyes not leaving the floor, her body language hinting that she was ashamed to even suggest it.

Jack nodded thoughtfully, not really picking up on Kate's suddenly withdrawn expressions.

Jennifer was definitely a better choice. Not only would it leave out the judgemental comments from his mother but also the fact that he wouldn't need to drive all the way to his mother's house to pick Hannah up later tonight.

"That's a great idea." Jack said softly as he gently tilted her head up enough to see her eyes and in the same motion letting his fingers glide gently over her cheek.

"There you are Jack! People are leaving..." Jack subconsciously let his hand fall from Kate's face as Jennifer interrupted them with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Thanks, I'll go play host for a few more minutes then." Jack said with a sigh. "Oh and Jen, do you think you could watch Hannah for a couple of hours?"

"Tonight?" The younger Shephard asked confused.

"Yeah… Kate and I have this thing we've gotta do." Jack added with an almost pleading expression on his face.

"Oh yeah?" Jennifer said giving her older brother a disbelieving look.

Jack glared at her and let out a loud sigh. "Not like that." Before he another chance to explain, Kate interrupted him.

"Jack might have found some people that know me." Kate said, nibbling on her lower lip, not really meeting Jennifer nor Jack's eyes.

Jack frowned in confusion. "She knows?" He asked turning to the brunette after quickly glancing in his sister's direction.

Before either one of the girls had a chance to answer, Jack's name was called from what Jack guessed was the hallway.

"Just one second" He said with a slightly annoyed tone, before hurrying off towards the source of the voice.

Feeling slightly bad for hurrying off his relatives with short good byes, Jack paced back to the kitchen with Hannah on his hip to find Kate and Jennifer giggling secretively about something.

Jennifer took a couple of quick steps and appeared next to Jack in less than a second, gently taking a worn-out Hannah out of his arms.

"Hannah what do you say about going back to Aunt Jennifer's place for a little while?" Jennifer suggested with an enthusiastic voice to the four year old who immediately nodded happily.

It took a lot longer than Jack had thought to pack Hannah into his sister's car. The girl had of course needed to bring most of her birthday presents even though they had told her several times over that she was just going to stay there for a few hours.

Almost an hour late, Jack and Kate were finally on their way to the address Mitch had given him. He could tell that Kate was nervous. She didn't speak and she was pretty much just looking out into thin air.

Jack parked the car outside the yellow house. Turning to face Kate he noted the pale expression on her face.

"What if I'm in trouble and these people are looking for me?" The brunette whispered with a scared voice.

"Kate, they are a married couple with three kids. Not disguised stalkers. Most likely they are relatives or close friends to you." Jack said serenely in an attempt to calm her down.

A few minutes passed and Kate made no sign that she had any plan at all to leave the vehicle.

"How about you wait in the car and I'll go talk to them" Jack suggested thoughtfully, placing a supportive hand on her knee.

"Could you?" Kate said, letting out a breath she had probably held forever.

"Sure" Jack said shortly, giving her a small nod. "I'll be right back"

Walking up to the front door, Jack took a deep breath as he knocked on the thick wooden door.

It didn't take long until a young blonde woman opened the door, holding a small child on her hip. The woman definitely resembled the one from the photos.

"Hi. My name is Jack Shephard." Jack introduced himself politely, watching the woman switch the baby's position to be able to shake his hand.

"I'm Julie Coleman, what can I do for you?"

"I'm wondering if you know a woman named Elizabeth Ryan" Jack said slowly, trying his best to read the woman's reaction to the name.

"No sorry, can't say that I do." Julie answered, looking confused and slightly nervous. He could see that she looked passed him and her whole face froze as her eyes settle on Kate sitting in the front seat of his car which was parked right in front of the house.

The woman's eyes slowly traveled back to meet his, now with a frightened look across her face.

It made him slightly uncomfortable that the woman appeared afraid of him but he thought he could use it to his advantage and gave Julie a stern look, indicating for her to say something else.

"Are you with the FBI?" The blonde woman finally squeezed out with a trembling voice.

The FBI? Should he pretend he was? Unsure if it would get the woman talking or the complete opposite, Jack finally gave her a confident nod. "Yes, I am. Can I come in?"

"Of course Agent Shephard" The woman answered apprehensively as she took a step to her left making room for Jack to enter.

Jack was led into a very nicely decorated living room. "Please sit down" Julie said quietly waving her free hand at the couch, as she seated herself opposite him in an armchair, still holding the small child closely to her body.

"Is this about Kate?"

Jack had to force himself not to smile. 'Kate'. Either that was her name after all, or she had given that alias to more people than him.

"Yeah." Jack simply answered, hoping the woman would continue talking. Not knowing how much this woman really knew about Kate, he wasn't sure he dared to play it dangerous and pretend to know things himself.

After almost a minute of silence, Jack realized that the woman wasn't going to start talking freely.

"Mrs. Coleman, could you please state your relationship to 'Kate'?"

"Agent Shephard, am I being charged with something?" The woman asked quietly, nervousness evident in her voice.

"No, no" Jack said quickly. Before he had a chance to say something else, two little girls came running through the room. The younger one chasing the blonde older girl who was carrying what looked like a plastic tiara.

"Emily, Molly." The woman said with a stern voice, giving the two girls a warning look. "Go to your room"

Molly? Jack followed the two children with his eyes as they quietly left the room. The younger one was definitely the same girl that he and Kate had thought was named Evania.

Building up some courage, Jack turned back to Julie with a smug look on his face. "Molly?" Saying the name like it was a complete foreign language, with a nicely fake shocked look on his face.

He could see Julie shift nervously on the couch, a very anxious look on her face, like she knew something bad was coming. When the woman didn't reply anything to his comment about the little girl's name, jack continued.

"What happened to 'Evania'?" Jack said, hoping that he pronounced the unique name correctly as well as actually being right about this and not saying something completely stupid.

The woman fingered nervously on the small baby-blue blanket that was lazily placed around the baby in her arms. Not meeting Jack's eyes, Julie looked like she was about to start crying any second.

Taking a deep breath, Jack continued talking in a very professional tone. "Mrs. Coleman, for your own sake, I would suggest you started talking right now."

Apparently that was enough to break her. The woman started sobbing and hugged her youngest child closer to her body. "We didn't do anything. I swear. We only took care of Molly for her."

Feeling bad for making the woman cry, Jack shifted slightly on the couch. But considering that the woman had indeed done something enough to be afraid of the FBI she wasn't all innocent. Jack then reminded himself that it had something to do with Kate, as it appeared, protecting Kate from the FBI. Either he should feel guilty himself and scared for the feds, or thankful towards the young mother sitting in front of him, or maybe both?

Sitting in silence for a few moments, Jack tried to puzzle all the pieces together in his head.

"Are you here to take her?" Julie asked sounding like her voice was going to fail her any second.

Jack looked back at the doorway where the two little girls had disappeared just a few minutes ago. Should he say yes and just take the child with him? That would be terrible, wouldn't it? Or maybe not, if the child was Kate's, she definitely deserved to have the little girl with her.

What if it wasn't? Even if everything pointed to that, he wasn't sure. You can't take a child out of a family without knowing for sure that it isn't their kid. What if they had adopted her and the girl was legally theirs?

Then why would the woman ask if he was there to take the child away? Jack argued with himself, as he turned back and nodded to the woman.

"Yea" Jack simply added to his nod to confirm to the woman why he was there. "I'm sorry" he added with an apologizing look on his face.


	35. Chapter 35

_I know I haven't updated in a long time so don't know if anyway still wants new chaps of this. well, let me know._

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**Chapter Thirty–Five**

It hadn't been as awful as Jack had thought it would be. He hadn't been surprised if the woman had fallen to her knees crying, but if anything she seemed almost more relaxed once he had told her that he was there to take the little girl. All though the woman still looked slightly uncomfortable by his presence.

They had been sitting in silence for a couple of minutes when the woman suddenly sighed loudly. Jack watched the woman in front of him trying to hold in her emotions. With a suppressed sob, she excused herself for a second and disappeared down the hallway.

Jack mechanically took in his surroundings, quickly scanning the room from one side to the other. Not really knowing what he was looking for in the first place, Jack did his best in an attempt to relax. Sitting back more comfortable in the armchair he tried to focus on Kate who was waiting in the car, not the woman in the next room who he had most likely gotten to cry.

He sat waiting for several minutes studying the photos of children placed in frames on the walls. Realizing that it had been quite some time now, Jack glanced nervously at the doorway where the woman had disappeared.

Getting up from the armchair, Jack walked down the hallway, not really knowing where to go. Luckily he passed a room with an open door and he immediately saw the woman as she paced back and forth in the room.

Stepping inside, Jack took in the beautiful light purple room while Mrs. Coleman continued to gather children clothes from a closet and placing them in a pile on the bed.

Jack felt slightly uneasy as he stood there watching the woman packing up the little girl's belongings. Should he help? Should be at least say something?

"Do you have children, Agent Shephard?" Mrs Coleman asked casually as she placed a stuffed bear and a doll next to the pile of clothes.

Jack felt taken back for a second by once again being referred to as an agent. Maybe this FBI thing hadn't been such a good idea.

"I do, yes" Jack answered politely, as he leaned slightly against the wall. Before the woman had a chance to ask him anymore questions, Jack hurried up and asked her something that had been on his tongue since he walked into the house.

"How did you first come in contact with Kate, and how did Molly end up in your care?" He emphasized the little girl's name as if it was foreign to him.

The woman glanced up at him with a slightly puzzled look on her face, but to Jack's surprise she at once started telling him the story.

"I was out walking with Emily and our dog Milo, about a year ago. Out of no where this little girl who couldn't be more than maybe a year and a half comes running towards Milo but before she reaches him a young girl comes flying after her and manages to grab her in the air just as she was about to throw her little arms around our dog's neck." The blonde woman had moved away from the closet and was now taking a few items out of a dresser.

"Well, we stayed at the park the whole day and the kids played for a few hours. We kept up the routine and a few days a week we would get together in the park so the kids could play. Kate and I became good friends but suddenly they stopped showing up and we never heard from them again. Until a few months later, Kate showed up on our porch in tears begging me to take care of Molly."

Jack could see that the story had a big emotional affect on the woman. With a deep breathe she quietly continued.

"I didn't know what to do… I told her that if she was in trouble I would try my best to help her, or if she needed money I would give it to her. But the only thing she wanted was to leave Molly here with us. She said she was scared that something would happen to the little girl."

Jack gave the woman a sympathizing look. Mrs. Coleman had packed a few more of Molly's belongings and was now sitting on the bed. It suddenly hit Jack that the baby she had been carrying earlier was no where to be seen. She had probably put him down to sleep before coming in here.

"Well, I couldn't say no to her so I promised I would take care of her daughter. We switched her name and got her into Emily's school. No one really asked any questions and to the ones that did we just said that she was our niece."

"I'll be right back." The woman said as she rose from the bed. Before leaving the room she handed over the bag with Molly's belongings to Jack who at once tossed it over his shoulder.

It didn't take very long until the woman came back carrying the small child who looked like a miniature version of Kate. Mrs. Coleman was talking softly to the child whispering something to her and hugging her close doing her best to not let all her emotions show.

The blonde woman suddenly took a step closer to Jack and motioned for him to take the girl.

Taking the toddler into his arms, the look in Jack's eyes immediately softened as he noticed the scared look on the girl's face. "Hi Molly. It's okay, you don't have to be scared."

The little girl looked like she didn't know if she was going to bury her face into to Jack or try to get away from him. She finally settled with putting her head on his shoulder making small noises sounding almost like sobs.

Jack guessed that she had picked up on the woman's upset mood and assumed that there was something very bad happening. From her point of view it kind of was.

Jack was after all taking her away from the only family she knew. Since she was just a toddler she probably didn't remember much, if anything from her life before the Colemans.

"What's going to happen to her?" The woman asked worriedly.

Jack gave her a reassuring smile before glancing down at the little girl in his arms. "Don't worry. I give you my word that she'll be well taken care of.

Jack could tell that she wanted to say something in. It was quite obvious that the woman was having a battle with herself whether or not to open her mouth.

Giving the blonde a soft look, Jack nodded for her to go ahead and just ask him anything. He knew that he would probably not be able to answer it anyway but he could always make something up and continue with his lame FBI-lies.

"Is she in a lot of trouble?" The woman finally asked in a whisper.

Not really sure what to say back to that, Jack's face fell a bit and with genuinely sad eyes he shrugged back a reply. "I don't know… I really hope she's not"

The woman was staring at Molly. Following the little girls hand movements with her eyes, before finally letting them meet Jack's again.

"Will Kate get a chance to see her?" The woman asked hopefully giving Jack a pleading look.

"I'll make sure she will." Jack promised, smiling slightly.

Leaning forward the woman placed a kiss on Molly's forehead. "I'll miss you so much sweetie. Now be a really good girl, ok?"

After saying goodbye, Jack managed to open the front door balancing the toddler with one hand. Having carried both Hannah and William endless of times, Jack carried Molly with ease down to the car. When he got a little closer to the vehicle he noted that Kate was about to open her door so he quickly and discreetly shook his head indicating for her to stay put.

Opening the door behind her he gently placed Molly down in Hannah's car-seat, which was slightly too big for her.

"Just stay in the car, don't do anything until we are out of sight." Jack whispered to Kate before stepping back and closing the door. With a solemnly nod to the blonde woman who was still standing on the front porch watching them, Jack walked around the car and got in as well.

"What's going on?" Kate asked the second he closed the door.

Turning the engine on and driving off from the area, Jack turned around slightly and cast a glimpse of the little girl in the backseat. "Honestly, I'm not sure."

Kate turned around in her seat and looked at the child that was sitting right behind her. The little girl had found one of Hannah's small stuffed animals and was fingering with it rather apprehensively.

After just a couple of minutes drive, Jack pulled the car to the side and stopped. Turning to the brunette, he started to get a really bad feeling about all of this.

"Jack? Can you please tell me what's going on…" Kate asked, sounding rather demanding.

"Well…" Taking a deep breath, he unexpectedly turned around slightly and opened his door, giving Kate a quick nod telling her to follow his example.

Jack slowly walked around the car and the brunette curiously did the same, meeting him half way. Standing in front of the car, Jack lazily leaned against the hood with one of his hands.

He could feel the inquiring eyes of the toddler from inside the car on him. She didn't really look scared anymore, now her expression was filled with worry and curiosity.

Turning back to Kate he was met by the exact same facial expression as well as the exact same eyes staring at him, waiting impatiently for him to explain what was going on.

Trying his best to retell what he knew himself and what Mrs. Coleman had told him, Jack managed to fill the brunette in rather quickly on what had happen the last 30 minutes.

"Oh my God…" Kate said in a breathless whisper. Turning to face him properly he could see her eyes suddenly flashing with rage. "Are you insane?!"

Taken back by the sudden outburst, Jack took a step back with a perplexed expression on his face. Why was she mad? Hadn't he just lied and taken a huge risk to get the woman her daughter back? A daughter she hadn't even known about if it wasn't for him.

Jack had no idea what to reply. Should he defend himself? Try to explain his actions and intentions? Without knowing why she was upset, Jack didn't really know what to do about the situation.

"Don't you think there was a reason that I had this family take care of her?! A reason, that I didn't have her in my life?" Kate yelled as she took a step forward, now standing close enough for Jack to feel her breath on his face.

"A mother doesn't give away her child without a damn good reason Jack! Have you any idea what you've done?! You've probably put this child in tremendous danger!" Kate ranted as she started to hyperventilate. The brunette was mechanically shaking her head back and forth as if it would keep the reality at bay.

"Hey…" Jack said sharply, as he gently placed a hand on each side of her shoulders in an attempt to get her attention. "It's going to be okay." He promised reassuringly.

Feeling Kate lean into his arms he folded them around her and brought her closer to his body. "It'll be okay" He repeated in a whisper into her hair, knowing that he would do anything to keep her and the little girl in the car safe from whatever it was that Kate had been so afraid of.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty-Six****  
**

Kate stepped out of the car the second Jack had parked it in Jennifer's driveway. She closed the door carefully not to wake the sleeping child in the backseat. How the little girl had managed to fall asleep was beyond her since she and Jack had had a rather loud discussion about the situation during the car ride to the younger Shephard's apartment building.

Unsure if she was going to take the child out of the car or not, Kate stood staring at the girl through the window until Jack suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you want me to carry her?" Jack asked softly, watching the toddler as well.

Kate shook her head slightly. "No, I'll take her…"

Opening the door, the brunette carefully unbuckled the seatbelt and lifted the child into her arms. Holding the little one close, Kate could feel the girl's heart beating with a steady rhythm.

Molly had nuzzled her face into Kate's neck. Taking a deep breath, Kate unconsciously inhaled the sweet smell of the chocolate curly hair that had spread out over her shoulder. A tiny hand suddenly reached up in a rather clumsy way and grabbed a hold of Kate's jacket. Kate held her breath for a second, scared that she had woken the child. When Molly didn't make any another movement indicating that she was awake, Kate managed to relax slightly again.

Kate had no idea what was going on but she could feel all kinds of emotions just building up in her body. Not really knowing how to deal with them, she felt her bottom lip starting to tremble and before she knew what happened she was sobbing and gasping for air.

She hadn't notice that Jack had lift Molly out of her arms and with his free hand pressed her against him. Crying into the man's shirt, Kate let herself completely break down.

Standing in the driveway, Kate finally settled down and was now just resting her head lightly on Jack's shoulder. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Do what?"

"Everything. Not remembering my life." Kate said calmly but with a clear tone of distress in her voice. "Her" The brunette added quietly glancing up at the toddler who was sleeping peacefully with her head on the doctor's opposite shoulder.

"We'll figure everything out, ok? Just trust me." Jack said softly pressing her closer to him, as if it would protect her from all harm that was out there.

"Let's just go get Hannah and get back home" Jack whispered into her hair. Taking a step back, the man placed his hand gently on her lower back and guided her in front of him towards the house.

Walking through the enterance and into a small elevator, Kate noted that the building was in a rather lousy condition. And it was not anywhere where near the class of the neighborhood that Jack lived in.

They had stopped in front of the first door on the third floor. Jack gave the wooden door a very soft knock before just opening it up and stepping inside.

They had barely closed the front door behind them when Jennifer appeared from out of thin air, with a very intrigued look on her face.

Lifting her eyebrows in bewilderment, Jennifer let her eyes linger on the beautiful little girl in Jack's arms. She glanced up skeptically at her older brother but no actual question left her lips.

Jack smirked at her. "Is it possible that the biggest tattletale of all time is loss of words?"

Jennifer leered back at him, but before having a chance to respond with a comeback line, Jack chimed in again. "Don't even say it. I'm just gonna get Hannah and then we'll be on our way"

"I'll take her" The brunette announced timidly, taking the child from her boyfriend's arms before he disappeared into the house to get his daughter.

Jennifer motioned for Kate to follow her to the living room, where the brunette sat down on the couch with the child in her arms. Kate shifted rather nervously on the sofa, as Jennifer stared at her from across the room, waiting patiently for the woman to start talking.

Kate could feel Jennifer's eyes digging into her. Her patience had definitely started to run out and there was now a demanding look in her eyes. "Ok, that's it. Spill."

Kate had no idea what to say. What did Jack want to tell his sister anyway?

"Oh come on. You've got to give me something. First you tell me that you might be pregnant, then that you have no memory of anything before last week and now out of nowhere you picked up a toddler somewhere in the middle of the night."

"Did you get your memory back?"

"No" Kate simply clarified. She wished that she had though, more than anything. "Jack found this family that we suspected had a connection to me. And well, we kinda brought the connection with us back here."

"So she's yours?"

"I think so, yes."

"Oh my God!" Jennifer squealed, sounding a lot more like Hannah than herself. "I can't believe you have a daughter."

"You can't believe...? I can't believe that I have a daughter! I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with her. How am I suppose to raise a child that I don't even remember having?" Kate could feel herself starting to hyperventilate again and knew that a another breakdown like the one she had just had in the driveway was not far away.

"Easy" Jennifer said softly in a calming tone as she walked over and sat down next to the brunette.

Kate counted slowly in her head, trying her best to concentrate on her breathing.

Jennifer leaned her head against the top of Kate's in a comforting way. "You okay?" Jennifer asked, placing a reasuring hand on Kate's leg.

"Yeah I guess" The brunette answered timidly before falling into silence.

"You know if you ever want to talk just give me a call. We could have a real girls night with ice-cream and Bridget Jones."

Kate leaned back and smiled gratefully. "Thanks Jennifer, that really means a lot to me."

Jack reappeared with a very sleepy Hannah in his arms. "Ready to go?"

With a nod the brunette rose to her fit, rearanging her arms around the small child. Making her way out to the hallway she could hear Jennifer whispering to her brother in a teasing tone. "You know, the more common way to start over is to get out there and meet someone, eventually get remarried, then after a few years have a couple of more kids…. "

Kate peeked around and a glance at the two siblings leaning close together, the brother with a rather unimpressed look in his face as the younger Shephard continued her lecture. " And not just have the girl appear magically on your doorstep one night, and then a couple of days later go out for a short errand and come back home with a baby."

"Very funny Jen." Jack said smugly as he gave her a kiss on the cheek just as they reached the front door.

The ride back to Jack's house was definitely more pleasent than their ride to Jen's. Kate felt like she had gained back a little control and knew that Jack would be there for her if she needed.

Jack had tucked in Hannah in her room right a way while Kate had carefully carried the little girl through the corridor and down to the guest room that she was currently occupying.

Just as she placed the girl down on the bed, she noticed that Jack had followed her and was now standing in the doorway, watching her every move.

Tucking the child in, Kate turned to him and smiled faintly. He moved to her side in a second and took her into his arms, burying his face in her wavy chocolate hair.

They stood there for several minutes just holding each other, silently watching the girl.

"I think I'll sleep in here tonight. I'm worried that she'll fall out of bed." Kate said timidly.

She could sence that Jack was thinking something over in his head. He hadn't repsonded to what she had said but she knew that there was something on his mind.

"How about we put her in William's old room?" Jack finally very softly.

Kate didn't know what to say. She loved that he would even suggest that to make it easier for her. But at the same time it somehow felt like she should apologize? But she didn't even know for what. Maybe that she was in his life all together, turning it all upside down, not letting him grieve his wife and son properly.

She didn't actually know how long it had been since he'd lost his family, but she got the feeling that it hadn't been that long.

Jack finally broke the akward silence that had fell over them. "Come on" He said in a low tone, as he gently picked up Molly from the guest bed.

"Jack..." Kate managed to get out as she gave him a worried look, but he just gave her a look that told her to drop it.

He turned around and paced down the corridor to the guestroom, Kate following closely behind. Opening the door carefully to a room that Kate so far hadn't seen, Jack stepped aside to let the woman enter first.

Kate peaked inside curisouly but was hesitant to actually enter. Jack had to almost push her inside. She could feel Jack's hand gently rest on the side of her waist as she stumbled into the lightblue painted nursery.

It was beautiful. The baby-blue walls had small red toy airplanes painted around the room as a border. There was a breauitful wooden crib, with matching wooden furniture, such as a changing table, a chest of drawers, a bookcase and a rocking chair.

Kate stood for a second taking in the room but was brought back to reality when Jack nudged her as he handed over the small child to her arms. Taking a deep breath, she nervously walked up to the crib. Glancing quickly at Jack for conformation that it was indeed okay, Kate placed the sleeping girl down in the crib, placing the blue-white cover over her.

Standing with her hands resting on the edge of the crib, Kate's eyes had fallen on a small hand and foot print made in clay that was hanging on the wall right infront of the crib. She read the ingraved inscription to herself. Willam C. Shephard, Age 1.

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she turned around to face Jack. "I'm sorry for being here. For not letting you grieve your wife and child properly. Jack, I'm so sorry."

"Kate, please don't feel like that. Your not keeping me from grieving. You're what's helping me deal with everything. Before I met you I had no idea how I was ever suppose to get through this but now I know that I will be able to in time."

"How long has it been since the accident?" The brunette asked very carefully. "You've probably told me, but I don't..."

"...remember." Jack filled in with a symphatic look. "It's been 3 months"

Giving him a sorrowfilled look back, Kate took a step forward and brought her arms around him, not really sure if she was trying to comfort her boyfriend or herself.

She willingly followed the man as he gently led her out of the room and across the hall to the master bedroom where they fell asleep with their arms wrapped securely around each other.


End file.
